India urges states to increase COVID testing Omicron | Coronavirus pandemic News

Virus testing needs to be stepped up as some cities delay the reopening of schools as a precautionary measure.

The Indian Ministry of Health says states should step up COVID-19 testing while the world fights. a new variant of the coronavirus Omicron, while some cities have delayed the reopening of schools as a precautionary measure.

The ministry also said on Tuesday that the Omicron variant “does not escape RT-PCR and RAT (testing),” calming some concerns among domestic health workers because changes in the virus’s spinal protein can lead to conventional tests not detecting the mutation. .

As the ministry warned state governments last week, the recent drop in tests could weaken India’s efforts. contain a pandemic.

Although India has not yet reported a case of Omicron, authorities are examining a sample of a man who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from South Africa to see if it is infected with Omicron or another variant.

Also on Tuesday, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation said the reopening of schools for young children was being postponed until December 15 as a precautionary measure, given Omicron’s global situation.

About two months ago, personal classes for high school students began in the city.

The city of Pune in the western state of Maharashtra has also delayed the reopening of schools, local media reported.

After dealing with a record jump in infections and deaths in April and May, the cases have done so download significantly Indian.

His COVID-19 cases rose 8,954 on Wednesday. There were 6,990 on Tuesday, the lowest increase in 551 days.

The number of coronaviruses in India is nearly 35 million, and the United States alone has reported more infections. Wednesday’s deaths rose 267 from a total of 469,247, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

But there have been concerns about the impetus for vaccines in India amid the discovery of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

“I wouldn’t say we’re really prepared, because the momentum of our vaccines is stumbling and that’s going to be a big challenge,” health economist Rijo M John told Al Jazeera.

“I’m worried about people over 45. Only 58 percent of the population over the age of 45 have been given two doses of the vaccine, ”he said.

“If the Omicron variant is more problematic or leads to more serious diseases, then this is a population that needs to be very concerned.”

Indian company Covaxin examines whether Omicron works

Meanwhile, India’s Bharat Biotech said on Tuesday it was considering whether its Covaxin shoot would work against coronavirus variants like Omicron, after the CEO of the modern drug maker Moderna warned that existing vaccines would be effective.

“Covaxin was developed against the original Wuhan variant,” a spokesman for Bharat Biotech told Reuters in a text message that the virus first originated in reference to the Chinese city.

“It has shown that it can work against other variants, including the Delta variant. We keep researching new variants. ”