Key Meet In India On Covid As Surge In China Triggers Alarm: Top Points

With reports of a surge in cases in the US, South Korea and Brazil as well, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya called for a meeting today to review the covid-19 situation in the country.

China sees a sharp rise in Covid-19 Infections

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Following the easing of the strict Covid-19 restrictions in China, the country has witnessed a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections, raising fears that the country might see over a million fatalities in the coming months.

With reports of a surge in cases in the US, South Korea and Brazil as well, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting today to review the coronavirus situation in the country.

Here are the top points on the current Covid-19 surge across the world:

• India has been successful in limiting the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Approximately 1200 cases are reported weekly throughout the nation.
• Health ministry secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday wrote to all states and Union Territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to keep track of any newer variants of the infection.
• "ln view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, the United States of America, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China, it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through...INSACOG network," he said in a letter.
• Top government scientists at NTAGI, INSACOG and National Institute of Virology said that covid cases are fewer in India and that the country is in a comfortable position due to extensive vaccination and herd immunity in the population.
• “India is in a very comfortable position now due to extensive covid vaccination drive and also the entire population has now been exposed to the virus giving rise to hybrid immunity. Chinese population followed strict lockdown whenever there was a surge, so people did not get exposed to the virus. The only thing important for us is that we should follow constant surveillance and monitoring of hospitalized cases," said Dr NK Arora, Chief of National Technical Adivsory Group of Immunisation (NTAGI).
• The news agency AFP reported on Tuesday that crematoriums across China were straining to deal with an influx of bodies, as the country battles a wave of Covid cases that authorities have admitted is impossible to track.
• There have also been reports of hospitals being overwhelmed, of shortages of flu medicines, and of schools moving back online in the wake of the Chinese government's sudden decision last month to lift nearly three years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing.
• China recorded 3,049 new Covid cases and zero new deaths on Wednesday.
• India on Tuesday reported 69 cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 44.6 million and deaths to 530,677.