IT has been more than a year that a country-wide lockdown was imposed. After a brief respite in early February 2021 when the number of new cases had significantly come down, there is again a sharp spike in infections. The numbers are escalating at an alarming pace. India is facing a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The wave is stronger, earlier and likely to cross the first wave in numbers, but is expected to have half the mortality.
As per a health ministry data, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have reported high number of daily new cases. Together, these seven states account for more than 81% of daily new cases reported in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra is the worst hit with 35,726 daily new cases, followed by Chhattisgarh with 3,162 cases and Karnataka, 2,886.
Genome sequencing has revealed a new “double mutant” variant of the coronavirus in Maharashtra, in addition to other “variants of concern” that have been found outside India. About 795 cases of the UK, South Africa and Brazil variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been detected in the country. But the new double mutant strain has been detected in only 206 samples, whereas 700 samples sequenced in Maharashtra have shown the UK variant; in Punjab too, 81% of samples (326 out of 401 samples) collected between February 1 and March 10 tested positive for the UK strain, making it the dominant strain in the state. In Delhi, 75 samples have shown the presence of the UK variant.
The mutations have also altered the presentation of the infection. Besides the routine clinical presentation of Covid-19, newer patients are younger and in Bengaluru, even younger than 10 years. While the new double mutant variant is a cause for concern, it is not likely to be a cause for panic.
This story is from the April 12, 2021 edition of India Legal.
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This story is from the April 12, 2021 edition of India Legal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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