(Author – Anonna Dutta)
The first case of Omicron’s new sub-variant BA.5 has come to light in India. Confirming the case, the country’s COVID-19 Genomic Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) said that this new variant of Omicron has been found in an 80-year-old man from Telangana. There is no record of traveling internationally. He had got both the doses of COVID-19.
The consortium also confirmed the presence of two cases of Omicron in India, another variant BA.4. Out of this, one case has been found in Hyderabad while the other case has been found in Tamil Nadu. The case from Hyderabad was detected in a South African passenger during sampling at the airport. The Tamil Nadu case was of a 19-year-old woman with no international travel record. He had also had both doses of corona virus and had mild symptoms of corona virus.
Significantly, the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron are believed to be responsible for the fifth wave of coronavirus in South Africa. This variant has been found in the continent of Africa as well as in many European countries and America. The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention has declared both these variants as variants of concern in Europe. At the same time, it has also been declared as Variants of Concern by the World Health Organization.
Let me tell you, INSACOG has been jointly done by the Union Ministry of Health, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for genomic sequencing of new variants of particular corona virus. .
Saudi Arabia imposed travel ban: In view of the increasing corona infection in India, Saudi Arabia has imposed a travel ban in 16 countries including India. These countries include Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus and Venezuela along with India.