India on high alert fearing return of Covid
SUBHASHIS MITTRA- Wide Angle
Mock drills at health facilities across India to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection instill a sense of confidence among the people that the country is alert and well prepared.
As cases are rising in the world, India has received a warning that the Covid pandemic, which shook the world for more than two years, may make a comeback.
The current outbreaks in some countries, including China, once again signify the importance of being vigilant and taking maximum precautions. It is alleged that it was China that pushed the Covid virus to the world.
China was the epicentre when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out nearly three years ago. It has again come into global focus with a massive resurgence in infections. It is reported that China is currently facing the biggest crisis due to Covid.
According to some estimates, up to one million people in China could die from Covid over the next few months. The Covid crisis in China is causing widespread concerns across the world.
Hospitals in China are overflowing with Covid patients. The death rate is also on the rise. Health experts estimate that at least one million people may die of the disease by the end of next year in China alone.
Reports are claiming that 60 per cent of Chinese people are likely to be infected with Covid-19 and the death rate may be very high. The pandemic is also spreading uncontrollably in countries like Japan, America, Korea and Brazil.
Taking all this into account, the Government of India has instructed the state governments to be more vigilant against Covid. India has been able to provide vaccination to the majority of its population in a way that no other country has done.
It is no small achievement that India has been able to get a prominent position in the list of countries that have dealt with the Covid pandemic most effectively. Almost the entire population of the country has received the first dose of the vaccine. The number of those who received the second dose is not less. The third dose of vaccination provided as a special precaution for senior citizens and those suffering from co-morbidities has also helped to effectively prevent the spread of the disease.
India, like other countries, has decided to step up surveillance. Though there is no need for panic, Covid-appropriate behaviour — wearing face masks in public places and maintaining physical distance — must be enforced in view of the rapid spread of the new variants.
It would be a mistake to think that the pandemic is behind us. It is also essential to gear up for the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants or sub-variants.
Ever since Omicron arrived in November 2021, it has been giving off branches which divide into smaller branches. Reports about a few cases of BF.7 being detected in India leave no room for laxity. The Central and state governments need to work in close coordination to plug the gaps and ensure that India is well-prepared to handle any fresh outbreak. Clinical readiness at hospitals is crucial, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said, and very rightly so.
The civil aviation ministry has asked airlines to modify their check-in systems for international passengers coming into India as part of the revised Covid guidelines, which makes a negative Covid test report a must for travellers coming from China and five other countries from Sunday.
The direction comes after the health ministry decided to make RT-PCR negative test reports compulsory for passengers coming on all international flights from six high-risk countries --China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.
The new rule is with effect from January 1, 2023, amid rising coronavirus cases in these six countries and some other parts of the world.