India reported more than 160,000 Covid infections on Sunday, the highest globally, as it overtook Brazil to become the second-worst hit country in the pandemic.
Breaking Covid norms, new strains could be behind case surge: AIIMS chief
Around February, when cases started to decrease, people became lax towards following COVID-appropriate behaviour as they thought the virus had become ineffective, says AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria
PTI | April 12, 2021 | Updated 16:14 IST
People not adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour and the circulation of highly infectious strains of SARS-COV-2 could be the primary reasons behind the surge in coronavirus infections in India, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Monday.
He also warned that if the situation is not reversed, then the galloping infection rate will eventually cause a huge strain on the country s healthcare system. He sought stricter enforcement of COVID-appropriate behaviour on the ground level by the administration and authorities.
“It took several months for the Covid-19 tally in the country to cross the 70,000-mark during the first wave. This time around, we are seeing a very steep curve,” the AIIMS director said. A similar situation is being witnessed in the national capital, he added.
Till about a month ago, Delhi was recording 130 to 140 cases daily. However, in the last one week, the daily tally has increased 10 times. On Thursday, the city recorded 2,790 new cases highest in over three months. The number of cumulative cases stood at 6,65,220.
Dr Guleria said that presence of mutated strains of the virus that causes Covid-19, most importantly the UK strain, which has high transmissibility, is an important factor behind the sudden surge. However, he added, the lack of Covid-appropriate behaviour wearing masks in public places, social distancing and washing hands regularly was the main reason.
PTI
India s COVID-19 case tally continues to rise, with more than 72 thousand cases being recorded in the last 24 hours. Speaking about the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases, Delhi AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria said that the situation is similar to what it was in the UK during Christmas.
As per the report by the NDTV, Guleria also linked the sudden rise to a new strain of COVID-19.
As per Health Ministry data, this brings the total number of active cases in the country to 5,84,055. At the same time, the death toll has now risen to 1,62,927.
The Indian government has so far maintained that there is no evidence that the surge is linked to a mutation of the COVID-19. The AIIMS chief, however, said that although there is no data to back this, it does not mean that it is not happening.
Dr Guleria answered questions on vaccine prices and where to go to get vaccinated among others
New Delhi:
With news coming in of a drastic increase in numbers of Covid cases across the country, the government has opened up the vaccination process to the private sector, a process that could begin on March 1. In an interview to NDTV s Vishnu Som on Left, Right and Centre, Dr Randeep Guleria, the Director of Delhi s AIIMS, who is a part of the taskforce that is handling the coronavirus crisis in India answered several key questions on how the new vaccination process will work.