Lockdown or no lockdown
Dr Mandeep Singh Azad
SBI Research says that India should not be “complacent” as it’ll reach the peak of the second wave as “this could lead to a widespread increase in infection as has happened in the current wave”. The peak of the second coronavirus wave in India will come around mid-May with active cases reaching around 36 lakhs. As states go for partial or weekend lockdowns, SBI Research also revised India’s FY22 growth projection to 10.4 per cent real GDP and 14.2 per cent nominal GDP. It said based on other countries’ experiences, might reach its second peak when the recovery rate will be 77.8 per cent. “Given that every 1 per cent reduction in recovery takes around 4.5 days, it translates into around 20 days from now. Also, our estimate shows that every 1 per cent reduction in recovery rate increases active cases by 1.85 lakh.India on 25 March announced that a new variant of the coronavirus had been detected from samples collected fro
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The World Health Organization yesterday said the new Indian COVID-19 variant responsible for the fast acceleration of explosive outbreaks in India had been detected in dozens of countries worldwide.
AN NDTV report said that according to the UN health agency, the new strain identified as B.1.617 variant of COVID-19, originally discovered in India in October 2020, had been detected in over 4,500 samples uploaded to an open-access databank from 44 nations in all six regions of the WHO.
In its weekly update on the COVID-19 crisis, WHO said it received reports of detections from five countries more. Outside of India, WHO said Britain had reported they had the largest number of COVID-19 cases caused by the said new strain.
UPDATED: May 12, 2021 15:23 IST
Using term Indian Variant for B.1.617 strain has no basis, WHO has not done so, says health ministry | PTI image
The Indian government on Wednesday slammed the use of the term Indian variant for the B.1.617 variant of coronavirus in media reports. The government clarified that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has never used the word Indian for the variant. Several media reports have covered the news of World Health Organisation (WHO) classifying B.1.617 as a variant of global concern. Some of these reports have termed the B.1.617 variant of coronavirus as an “Indian Variant”. These media reports are without any basis, and unfounded, the statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
Explained: What Is N440K Covid Variant? Is It More Virulent? Know What CCMB Says
This new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is the reason behind the havoc caused in Visakhapatnam, Karnataka, Telangana, and other southern parts. This virus was also found in parts of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Outlook Web Bureau 10 May 2021, Last Updated at 7:25 am Representational image Outlook Web Bureau 2021-05-10T07:22:56+05:30 Explained: What Is N440K Covid Variant? Is It More Virulent? Know What CCMB Says outlookindia.com 2021-05-10T07:25:30+05:30
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As the country is witnessing a rise in Covid cases, a new variant, ‘N440K’ is creating a buzz – It is spreading a lot more in the southern states especially Andhra Pradesh as compared to the other Covid variants.
A file photo of World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan. | Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters
World Health Organisation Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Saturday said the coronavirus variant spreading in India was more contagious and might be evading the protection offered by vaccines, AFP reported. In an interview to the news agency, the scientist said that these factor were contributing to the massive outbreak of the infection in the second wave.
The B.1.617 variant of the Covid-19, known more commonly as the double mutant strain, was first detected in India in October last year. As the name suggests, the strain involves two variants of the virus. The E484Q mutation has characteristics of a previously detected variant – the E484K – which was seen in the fast-spreading Brazilian and South African variants, making it highly transmissible. The L452R mutation, on the other hand, helps the virus evade the body’s immune response. The double mu