Covid-19: 'Strain driving China surge was found in India before but did not cause spike'

Security staff checks the temperature of fliers at the airport. File pic/Ashish Raje

As the Centre asked states to buckle up amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China, Maharashtra's epidemic surveillance officer said the dominant Coronavirus strain in the neighbouring nation has not caused any adverse effect despite being around in a couple of states for some time now. The BMC said that genome sequencing is on track, and officials are monitoring the situation.

In view of the surge in COVID cases in other countries, the Central government on Wednesday asked all states and Union Territories that it was essential to send samples of COVID patients for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories, to track and detect variants.

Dr Toraskar said, "The state is already continuing genome sequencing. Till the time COVID is settled down all over the world, we need to wear a mask and follow other COVID-appropriate behaviours to avert a crisis."

A passenger gets tested for COVID-19 at Mumbai airport in November 2020. File pic

Dr Harshad Limaye, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, said, "We are yet to observe an alarming spike in COVID cases in Mumbai or Maharashtra. As of yet, there are not enough cases to warrant mass screening at airports or crowded places. As a result of the virus's development, it is unlikely that the new strain will be as virulent as Alpha or Delta. The spikes in China, the United States, or other countries should be followed but aren't a cause of panic in India."

Also Read: Mumbai: We need to mask up and be safe, says Maharashtra Covid task force

Mumbai, which has been recording new cases in single digits, saw 8 new COVID cases on Wednesday. A total of 3,758 samples were tested. In the past two months, the city reported 1,911 cases and seven deaths.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has already announced that it will start screening international passengers arriving at airports in the state. This has also led to questions regarding the same should be done in Mumbai and Maharashtra too.

Dr V Ravi, virologist and head of research and development at Tata MD and chairman of Karnataka Genomic Surveillance Committee, said, "There is no need for mass testing right now. The government has rightly decided to conduct random testing at the airport to keep track of the entry of any new variants here. Thermal screening can be done to select the random members for testing. There is no need to panic as almost 90 per cent of the country's eligible population has taken two shots of vaccines. Those who are yet to take their precautionary shot, should get it soon."

145
No. of cases in Mumbai so far in December

7
No. of COVID deaths in city in the past two months