Sporadic Covid admissions, new variant BF.7 not detected in Nagpur

NAGPUR: Except for a couple of admissions, including that of a three-year-old boy following drop in the oxygen level, the region hasn’t seen any rise in cases following global concerns in the wake of the new Omicron variant. So far, the Omicron sub-lineage BF.7 variant hasn’t been found in the whole genome sequencing.
After a surge in cases in China and other nations, the Indian authorities had stepped up surveillance beside warning citizens to be cautious during New Year celebrations. Though four international flyers tested positive since December 26, three of them recovered at home. A 28-year-old resident of Dhamangaon was found positive on Monday. He had returned from Sharjah and left for his village after giving his swab at the Nagpur airport.
A 3-year old boy tested positive, developed fever and cough after returning from a function in Madhya Pradesh a couple of days ago.
Overall, the number of zero Covid days continued to remain high since June last year.
Infectious disease specialist Dr Nitin Shinde said, “There is no threat to us. These are Omicron variants. We have hybrid immunity from vaccine and natural infection. The new variant is not killing people anywhere in the world except China.”
Infectious disease specialist Dr Ashwini Tayde said, “Mutations can create many variants and sub-variants. This process is called convergent evolution. This is an ongoing process and inevitable. BF.7 is more infectious. It is unlikely to create major issues. There are a lot of flu-like infections so people need to take their flu shots,” she said.
Pulmonologist Dr Ravindra Sarnaik said, “Omicron subvariant BF.7 is responsible for the latest Covid outbreak in China as reported by WHO. These sub-lineages of Omicron are being monitored to assess if there is an impact on disease severity and on the effectiveness of countermeasures. The variant is present in India as well, but have not led to any spike in infections, and are unlikely to pose any serious threat. China’s problem is not these variants. Their zero Covid policy has resulted in possibly immune-naïveté of the bulk of its population and the likely outcome of their vaccination strategies,” he said.