Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya
In view of increasing cases of Covid-19, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who chaired a review meeting with states on Friday, asked them to stay alert and remain prepared for the management of the disease
The latest preprint new study shows XBB.1.16 Omicron variant, which is behind the COVID surge in India and will also spread worldwide in the near future, has an effective reproductive number (Re) 1.27 and 1.17-fold higher respectively than XBB.1 & XBB.1.5, suggesting that XBB.1.16 will spread worldwide in the near future
New Delhi:
India on Saturday recorded 6,155 fresh COVID-19 infections, while the number of active cases increased to 31,194, according to Union health ministry data.
India’s COVID-19 tally now stands at 4.47 crore (4,47,51,259). The death toll climbed to 5,30,954 with 11 deaths, including two reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
At 31,194, the active cases comprise 0.07 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent, according to the health ministry website.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 5.63 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 3.47 per cent.
The latest preprint new study shows XBB.1.16 Omicron variant, which is behind the COVID surge in India and will also spread worldwide in the near future, has an effective reproductive number (Re) 1.27 and 1.17-fold higher respectively than XBB.1 & XBB.1.5, suggesting that XBB.1.16 will spread worldwide in the near future.
“At the end of March 2023, XBB.1.16, a SARS-CoV-2 omicron XBB subvariant, emerged and was detected in various countries. Compared to XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 has two substitutions in the S protein: E180V is in the N-terminal domain, and T478K in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). We first show that XBB.1.16 had an effective reproductive number (Re) that was 1.27- and 1.17-fold higher than the parental XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, respectively, suggesting that XBB.1.16 will spread worldwide in the near future.” the study stated.
“In fact, the WHO classified XBB.1.16 as a variant under monitoring on March 30, 2023. Neutralization assays demonstrated the robust resistance of XBB.1.16 to breakthrough infection sera of BA.2 (18-fold versus B.1.1) and BA.5 (37-fold versus B.1.1). We then used six clinically-available monoclonal antibodies and showed that only sotrovimab exhibits antiviral activity against XBB subvariants, including XBB.1.16. Our results suggest that, similar to XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 is robustly resistant to a variety of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies,” it read further.
“Our multiscale investigations suggest that XBB.1.16 that XBB.1.16 has a greater growth advantage in the human population compared to XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, while the ability of XBB.1.16 to exhibit profound immune evasion is comparable to XBB.1 and XBB.1.5.” it said.
Meanwhile, in view of increasing cases of Covid-19, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who chaired a review meeting with states on Friday, asked them to stay alert and remain prepared for the management of the disease.
Mandaviya further urged the State Health Ministers to conduct mock drills of all hospital infrastructure on April 10 and 11 and review the health preparedness with district administrations and health officials on April 8 and 9.
Mandaviya on Friday chaired a review meeting with health ministers of all states and Union Territories through video conferencing. He also urged states to identify emerging hotspots by monitoring trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases and sending sufficient samples for testing of COVID-19 and Influenza; and ramping up whole genome sequencing of positive samples.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,89,111, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry’s website, 220.66 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.