Health experts have given relief advice on Saturday to those concerned about the re-spread of the corona virus. Said that at present the situation is under control and nothing alarming has been found. Said that there is no need to panic due to the increase in the cases of COVID-19 in the country for the last few days. He said that the increase in cases so far is confined to a few districts. Experts also pointed to non-compliance with COVID-appropriate behavior and people’s enthusiasm about taking booster doses, potentially increasing the population’s vulnerability to infection.
In this regard, an official source said that in seventeen districts of the country, including seven in Kerala and five in Mizoram, the weekly infection rate is more than 10 percent, while seven in Kerala and four districts each in Maharashtra and Mizoram have a total of 24 districts in the country. The weekly infection rate in the U.S. is between five and 10 percent. Dr. NK Arora, President, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAG) said, “We have not found any new worrying pattern. In India, there are BA4 and BA5 variants in addition to BA.2 which are currently considered more contagious. The summer vacations have led to increased movement, easing of national and international travel restrictions and a complete opening up of economic activities, leading to the spread of infection among vulnerable individuals.
Dr. Arora said, ‘The infection is confined to metros and large cities with high population density. Importantly, most of the people who are getting infected these days have been vaccinated and have common cold and mild influenza-like illness. He said, ‘There is no need to panic, but everyone should remember that COVID is around us and we need to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour. Especially there is a need to avoid crowded places and make masks an integral part of our daily life.
Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said that the number of cases has increased, but there has been no increase in hospitalizations or deaths. Besides, the growth is limited to certain geographical areas, he added. Guleria said, ‘So the increase in cases is not a cause for concern at the moment. But we should not lax and focus on the investigation vigorously. This will also help to know about the emerging formats. Studies conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and other international research institutes have indicated that antibody levels decrease approximately six months after the primary vaccination with both doses. And giving booster increases the level of immunity.
Dr. Nivedita Gupta, Head of Epidemic and Infectious Diseases Department at ICMR said, “The growth so far has been limited to a few districts and is localised, but appropriate containment efforts, restrictions, social distancing in those areas to control the spread of infection. And ensuring COVID-appropriate behavior is important. With the arrival of more than 8,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the country after 103 days on Saturday, the total number of infection cases reached 4,32,13,435 while the number of patients under treatment increased to 40,370.
Dr. NK Arora, President, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAG) said, “We have not found any new worrying pattern. In India, there are BA4 and BA5 variants in addition to BA.2 which are currently considered more contagious. The summer vacations have led to increased movement, easing of national and international travel restrictions and a complete opening up of economic activities, leading to the spread of infection among vulnerable individuals.