Amid the rising Covid-19 cases across India, a new sub-variant is emerging among the patients. Coronavirus sub-variant XBB.1.16 has been detected in four out of five Indian states
XBB.1.16 is being considered a variant of interest by medical professionals, doctors and health experts due to its increased transmissibility which allows it to replace the other dominant Covid variants
As per the data from India’s Covid-19 genome sequencing consortium, INSACOG, the variant was found in 204 patient samples in March, up from 138 in February and just two in January
Of the total 344 XBB.1.16 sequences isolated so far, the highest number (105) has been reported from Maharashtra, with cases of the new variant being reported from Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Amravati and Nandurbar
Two other sub-variants XBB.1.5 and XBB.2.3 are the ones with the highest presence among patient samples after XBB.1.16, as per INSACOG data
As per the data updated at 8 am on March 24 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India currently has 7,927 active cases, which is 0.02% of the global caseload, the death toll has increased to 5,30,818 with one death each reported by Karnataka and Gujarat
The Covid positivity rate in India has been recorded at 1.19%. It is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus from the total number of those who have been tested
While the government has not detailed any new set of SOPs for Covid, people with comorbidities have been advised to avoid crowded places, wear face masks, and ensure social distancing
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a Covid-review meeting to assess the surge in Covid cases across the country. He also discussed the situation of influenza in the country. Meanwhile, Delhi MCD has asked hospitals to screen patients with fever or other symptoms for both Covid and influenza