Covid-19 threat persists as Omicron variants vitiate air

NEW DELHI: The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) on Sunday said that the Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India. With 1,994 fresh cases, India’s Covid-19 tally climbed to 4,46,42,742, while the number of active cases of the infection declined to 23,432, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

According to the health ministry bulletin, the death count due to the viral disease increased to 5,28,961 with four more fatalities, according to the ministry’s data. The active cases account for 0.05 per cent of the total caseload, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.76 per cent.

“Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India. BA.2 and its descendent lineages, in particular, BA.2.75, has been mostly found over the last week in different parts of India,” the bulletin dated September 12 said.

The incidence of BA.5 has decreased in the last few weeks. Any surge in hospitalisation or any disease severity has not been observed during this period, it further said. The INSACOG, which released its latest bulletin on Sunday, after September 5, however does not mention the four sub-variants BF.7, BQ.1, XBB and BA.2.3.20 that have been detected in India, including in Maharashtra, Kerala, and Gujarat, and is leading to a slight rise in Covid cases. These new sub-variants were detected in the last week of September and the first week of October. 

The latest bulletin has whole genome sequencing of samples from sentinel sites across the country and international passengers arriving in India till the first September 9. It said that globally, the INSACOG, a consortium of 54 laboratories to monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2, functioning jointly under the observation of the health ministry and the department of biotechnology, Omicron is the most abundant variant of concern (VOC) circulating worldwide, accounting for 99.4 per ent of sequences reported globally. 

BA.5 Omicron descendent lineages continue to be dominant globally, with an increase in weekly prevalence from 84.8 percent to 86.8 percent, it added. “The prevalence of BA.2 descendent lineages (BA.2.X) remained constant last week. BA.2.75, an Omicron descendent lineage under monitoring, still shows a relatively low prevalence globally. However, a number of countries have observed recent trends,” it further said.

Covid decline, rise of Omicron

Amid the declining trajectory of daily Covid-19 cases in India, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics said that the Omicron and its 
sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India

With 1,994 fresh cases, India's Covid-19 tally climbed to 4,46,42,742, while the number of active cases of the infection declined to 23,432, according to the health ministry.

According to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India.

BA.2 and its descendent lineages, in particular, BA.2.75 has been mostly found over the last week in different parts of the country.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.99 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,40,90,349, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.

According to the ministry, 219.55 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered to the beneficiaries across the country.

NEW DELHI: The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) on Sunday said that the Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India. With 1,994 fresh cases, India’s Covid-19 tally climbed to 4,46,42,742, while the number of active cases of the infection declined to 23,432, the Union health ministry said on Sunday. According to the health ministry bulletin, the death count due to the viral disease increased to 5,28,961 with four more fatalities, according to the ministry’s data. The active cases account for 0.05 per cent of the total caseload, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.76 per cent. “Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India. BA.2 and its descendent lineages, in particular, BA.2.75, has been mostly found over the last week in different parts of India,” the bulletin dated September 12 said. The incidence of BA.5 has decreased in the last few weeks. Any surge in hospitalisation or any disease severity has not been observed during this period, it further said. The INSACOG, which released its latest bulletin on Sunday, after September 5, however does not mention the four sub-variants BF.7, BQ.1, XBB and BA.2.3.20 that have been detected in India, including in Maharashtra, Kerala, and Gujarat, and is leading to a slight rise in Covid cases. These new sub-variants were detected in the last week of September and the first week of October.  The latest bulletin has whole genome sequencing of samples from sentinel sites across the country and international passengers arriving in India till the first September 9. It said that globally, the INSACOG, a consortium of 54 laboratories to monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2, functioning jointly under the observation of the health ministry and the department of biotechnology, Omicron is the most abundant variant of concern (VOC) circulating worldwide, accounting for 99.4 per ent of sequences reported globally.  BA.5 Omicron descendent lineages continue to be dominant globally, with an increase in weekly prevalence from 84.8 percent to 86.8 percent, it added. “The prevalence of BA.2 descendent lineages (BA.2.X) remained constant last week. BA.2.75, an Omicron descendent lineage under monitoring, still shows a relatively low prevalence globally. However, a number of countries have observed recent trends,” it further said. Covid decline, rise of Omicron Amid the declining trajectory of daily Covid-19 cases in India, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics said that the Omicron and its  sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India With 1,994 fresh cases, India's Covid-19 tally climbed to 4,46,42,742, while the number of active cases of the infection declined to 23,432, according to the health ministry. According to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant in India. BA.2 and its descendent lineages, in particular, BA.2.75 has been mostly found over the last week in different parts of the country. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.24 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.99 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,40,90,349, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent. According to the ministry, 219.55 crore doses of Covid vaccines have so far been administered to the beneficiaries across the country.