If a UK-like spike occurs, India could see 14 lakh Covid-19 cases per day: VK Paul of Niti Ayog
New Delhi: The global spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is causing concern among health experts. Apart from India, Omicron has spread to at least 77 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, and Japan.
At a Health Ministry press briefing on COVID-19, VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog, stated that Europe is experiencing a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. “A new phase of the Covid-19 pandemic is underway in Europe, with a sharp increase in cases.” Delta and Omicron together are fueling the spike, despite the fact that many of these countries have been largely vaccinated with both doses, according to Dr Paul.
The United Kingdom, in particular, is experiencing a massive increase. The British government reported 93,045 new coronavirus cases on Friday (December 17). This was the third day in a row that the UK broke its own daily tally record. So, what does this mean for India? Dr. VK Paul had some concerning statistics to share. “If we look at the scale of spread in the UK and if there is a similar outbreak in India, we will have 14 lakh cases every day given our population.”
Dr. Paul stated that genome sequencing of every sample is not possible. “At the moment, it is a surveillance and pandemic assessment and tracking tool, not a diagnostic tool.”
However, preliminary research indicates that, while Omicron is significantly more infectious than the Delta variant, which caused havoc in India earlier this year, it causes less severe symptoms. However, experts have cautioned that it is too early to make any definitive statements on the subject. The efficacy of the vaccine against the new variant is also being investigated.
In a briefing on the current state of Covid and the new variant Omicron in the country, Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava stated that it is critical to have low-intensity celebrations and avoid unnecessary travel and mass gatherings.
According to Luv Agrawal, Joint Secretary of Health, new Covid cases have been reported at a rate of less than 10,000 in the last 20 days. For the previous week, the case positivity rate was 0.65%. According to him, Kerala currently accounts for 40.31 percent of the total number of active cases in the country.
According to him, India is administering Covid-19 vaccine doses at the highest rate in the world, with the daily rate of doses administered being 4.8 times that of the United States and 12.5 times that of the United Kingdom.
In terms of the new Covid variant, he stated that 101 Omicron cases have been reported across 11 states thus far.
“There is no evidence to suggest that vaccines are ineffective against Omicron variant,” he said, adding that, according to a WHO report, Omicron will likely outpace Delta variant where community transmission occurs.
