India’s situation like UK due to virus mutation: AIIMS Director
On the day India entered the third phase of world’s biggest Covid-19 inoculation drive with the vaccine net extended to those above 45, the country reported the biggest jump in new coronavirus cases in nearly six months at 81,380. The death toll at 468 was the highest in nearly four months.
This has taken the total Covid-19 tally to 1,23,02,092 and deaths at 1,63,428.
The Covid surge in the country is due to a new strain and the situation is exactly like the one in the UK when the virus underwent a mutation around Christmas, Dr Randeep Guleria, chief of Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, told a news agency.
Maharashtra with 43,183 cases took the lead followed by Chhattisgarh (4,617) and Karnataka (4,234).
India’s active caseload has reached 6,10,914 and now comprises 4.78 per cent of the country’s total infections. A net rise of 31,489 cases has been recorded in the total active caseload in a span of 24 hours.
India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,15,22,877 with 50,377 recoveries being registered in a span of 24 hours.
A new coronavirus variant reported from Chhattisgarh has become a cause of worry for the Government.
According to reports, the State has confirmed the new variant in five different samples. The doctors are yet to discover the effect of the new variant on the patients. It is feared that the new variant, N-440, is likely to weaken the body’s immune system.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Punjab cumulatively accounted for 78.9 percent of the total active cases in the country. Maharashtra alone accounts for more than 61 per cent of the active caseload of the country.
A total of 459 deaths were reported in a day, the highest so far this year, with six States accounting for 83.01 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (227) followed by Punjab at 55 daily deaths. However, in a major relief, at least 14 States reported zero deaths.
India is facing an increasingly severe and intensive situation in some districts, but the entire country is potentially at risk, the Centre said on Tuesday.
Dr Paul, who heads the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 and is a core member of the Centre’s COVID-19 response team, exhorted the private sector to come forward and participate in the vaccination drive. “We were told there are 20,000 private vaccination centres in the country. But less than 6,000 vaccination centres are being run by the private sector in India. We request the private sector to make the remaining vaccination centres functional and increase their number,” he said.