COVID-19 BF.7: New Omicron subvariant accounts for over 40% of new cases in United States

Chhattisgarh on Saturday reported four COVID-19 cases at a positivity rate of 0.31 per cent, taking the tally to 11,77,758, a health official said. The death toll and recovery count remained unchanged at 14,146 and 11,63,602, respectively, he added. The active caseload of the state was 10, the official said.

Four members of a family tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district on Saturday, and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, an official said. A 45-year-old man, his wife and their daughters, aged 12 and seven years, living in Agrawal Nagar colony have tested positive for the infection, district surveillance officer Dr Amit Malakar told PTI. "Their samples were sent for testing after they complained of cough and cold. Our team is working on tracing their contact history and their samples have also been sent for genome sequencing," he said.

The national capital logged 9 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, with a case positivity rate of 0.22 per cent, stated a bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department on Friday. With the fresh infections, the active cases in the city stand at 30. According to the bulletin, 14 Covid patients recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 19,80,657.

Exiled Tibetan Buddhist religious leader, the Dalai Lama, who is in Bodh Gaya for the Kaal Chakra Puja, on Friday said China is going under a tough situation at present due to Covid and expressed his sympathy as the pandemic has spread across the country, infecting a large number of people. His statement came a day after a suspected woman Chinese spy was arrested from Bodh Gaya. The Dalai Lama also said that the Corona pandemic is more dangerous than an atom bomb. "China is going through a tough situation due to Covid 19 and my sympathy is with the people of China. We have to pray for them. Corona is more dangerous than an atom bomb. Though, we need to make an atom bomb and a pandemic free world," he said on the second day of his sermons. "I have been practicing Budh-Chit since childhood. I went under Budh-Chit more after coming to India. The incident of the atom bomb is always painful. How long do we stay under the threat of atom bombs? We have to understand our responsibility for the earth. We have to live under the ruling of Budh," the Dalai Lama said.

The India-Singapore relations, which showed resilience amid global downturn due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year, made significant progress in new areas of cooperation like digital connectivity, fintech and green economy in 2022 with resumption of regular high-level in-person bilateral engagements. The year started with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on the sidelines of the EU Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific on February 22 in Paris. Besides forum deliberations, the two leaders held parleys on travel resumption between the two nations, economic cooperation and regional developments. The highlight of the year was the maiden India Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) -- a new high-level ministerial mechanism to chart a roadmap to take the bilateral ties to a new level, the Indian High Commission here said.

After two years of the worst phase of Covid pandemic, 2022 saw a new wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant of coronavirus which ultimately subsided, putting India along with the world on the route to normalcy before fresh concerns arose amid rise in cases globally at the fag end of the year.
The health ministry, which was kept on its toes by coronavirus, had to briefly deal with the challenge of monkeypox which had sparked a major scare in the months of June, July and August and also the issue of deaths of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan allegedly linked to cough syrups manufactured in India. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation began a probe in connection with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly linked to the cough syrup Dok-1 Max manufactured by Marion Biotech of Noida. The Uzbekistan health ministry has alleged that the children died after consuming Dok-1 Max. Before Uzbekistan's claims, there were reports linking the deaths of 70 children in Gambia to cough syrups manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals earlier this year. The Drugs Controller General of India, however, claimed the WHO drew a premature link.

Since China relaxed its controversial zero covid policy last month, the second-largest economy is struggling to deal with the meteoric rise in coronavirus cases throughout the country which is putting a burden on its healthcare system. British virologist and biologist Jonathan Latham, Executive Director of the Bioscience Resource Project, a New York non-profit based in said that Beijing is clearly not being open and transparent about case numbers or deaths and that only accurate data can lead to good decisions in China and elsewhere."China is early not being open and transparent about case numbers or deaths. This is true for many countries though. It would be great to have truly accurate information on those points, however, since only timely and accurate data can lead to good decisions in china and elsewhere. Good data would also test the theory that newer variants such as omicron have a lower inherent death rate," said Jonathan to ANI."The pandemic response of authorities has generally been very poorly thought out and executed. It is doubtful that warnings from China would have made a difference, either today or back in 2019/2020. Even western warnings in late 2019 were ignored," he added.

The third wave of the Covid pandemic driven by the Omicron variant had resulted in a record surge in Delhi in early 2022, followed by a relative dip in cases during successive months, but as the year draws to an end, all eyes are on the fresh threat, proving many experts right that "Covid is not out of the world yet". The pandemic, the worst since the Spanish Flu of 1918, had wreaked havoc globally in 2020 and 2021 and Delhi was one of the worst-hit cities, particularly during the deadly second wave when the death toll hit through the roofs as the capital was left scrambling for hospital beds and literally gasping for breath. After two years of the mayhem, 2022 largely had been easy for people in Delhi as daily cases, positivity rate, death count and hospital admission figures, have all come down significantly by the end of the year. However, although people were hoping to breathe easy while welcoming 2023, a new Covid scare may be looming on the horizon.

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France, Spain and England will implement tougher COVID-19 measures for passengers arriving from China, authorities said Friday. France's government is requiring negative tests, and is urging French citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China. France is also reintroducing mask requirements on flights from China to France. French health authorities will carry out random PCR tests at airports on passengers arriving from China to identify potential new coronavirus variants. The new rules take effect on Sunday, but officials said it would be a few days before they are fully in place. The UK government announced that anyone travelling to England on direct flights from China would be required to take a pre-departure test from January 5. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said that the UK was taking a "balanced and precautionary approach." He described the measures as "temporary" while officials assess COVID-19 statistics. France and Spain said they would continue to push for a Europe-wide policy. France's hospitals have struggled in recent weeks with a large number of patients because of three concurrent outbreaks: the seasonal flu, a wave of bronchitis cases and COVID-19.

Chinese manufacturing contracted for a third consecutive month in December, in the biggest drop since early 2020, as the country battles a nationwide COVID-19 surge after suddenly easing anti-epidemic measures. A monthly purchasing managers' index declined to 47.0 from 48.0 in November, according to data released from the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction in activity. The contraction was the biggest since February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had just started. The weakening comes as China earlier this month abruptly relaxed COVID-19 restrictions after years of attempts to stamp out the virus. The country of 1.4 billion is now facing a nationwide outbreak and authorities have stopped publishing a daily tally of COVID-19 infections. Several other sub-indexes, including for large enterprises, production and demand in the manufacturing market also dropped compared to November.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Friday urged upon the citizens of the state to remain alert for COVID-19 and be on guard against it. "In our state the COVID-19 cases are under control… we are not completely free, so we have to be very cautious and be on guard but it is not alarming for now," Rio told reporters after inaugurating five major projects in and around the state capital. Nagaland had reported 35,986 COVID-19 cases and 782 deaths due to the infection till November this year. On November 26, Nagaland became a coronavirus free state with zero active cases. On the 2023 state general elections, which are due early next year, Rio said "even if there is no solution to the vexed Naga political problem, the elections will be held as per schedule".

A vast combination of microorganisms live in our gut, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. Collectively, we refer to this as the the microbiome. Despite their tiny size, these microbes have significant effects on our health and wellbeing. In fact, the microbiome is often referred to as the “second brain” due to the extensive relationship it has with the body’s organs and systems. One role in particular the microbes in our gut play is supporting immune function. They help to control local and systemic inflammation, the process by which the immune system protects us from harmful pathogens. So it’s not entirely surprising that research has shown the make-up of bacteria in the gut may influence the severity of a COVID infection. At the same time, evidence is beginning to suggest a COVID infection could affect the balance of bacteria in the gut, which might go some way to explaining why some people have persistent symptoms after a COVID infection. The microbes in our gut provide essential signals for our immune responses across the body, including in the lungs. A “healthy” gut microbiome comprises a broad range of bacteria, though is not identical in every person. Studies have previously shown that a healthy gut microbiome can improve the immune response to respiratory infections by regulating immune cells and messages.
On the flip side, evidence shows a poorer composition of gut bacteria increases susceptibility to influenza infections in the lungs, and leads to reduced clearance of germs from the lungs in mice. With COVID, it similarly appears that the make-up of the gut microbiome can influence the course of disease. Research has shown an association between the microbiome profile and levels of inflammatory markers in patients with COVID, where patients with a poorer combination of gut bacteria show signs of too much inflammation. This suggests the microbiome influences the severity of a COVID infection via effects on the immune response.

France, Spain and Israel have become the latest to join a growing list of countries, including India, to tighten restrictions against travellers from China in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 resurgence in the Asian giant. In a statement on Friday, the French government said passengers flying from China would have to present a negative Covid-19 test less than 48 hours old before departure, the BBC reported. Without specifying a date, the French Health and Transport Ministries said the government would publish a decree and notify European Union (EU) member states. Meanwhile, Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said that "at the national level, we will implement controls at airports and require travellers from China to present a negative Covid test or be fully vaccinated".Israel has ordered foreign airlines not to allow people to travel from China unless they have tested negative, and asked its own citizens to avoid unnecessary travel there.

Assam Health Minister Keshab Mahanta on Friday expressed confidence that the state was fully prepared to deal with any public health emergency arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking to media in Guwahati, he said as of now, there is no standard operating procedure in the state with regard to the pandemic but the government was abiding by the guidelines issued by the central government. "We are now following the guidelines issued by the central government. We have conducted mock drills across the state and our hospitals have 8,000 oxygen beds and 1200 ICUs. Our doctors at government hospitals are fully prepared to deal with any situation. As of now, there is no separate SOP for Covid in the state. We will discuss it with the chief minister and will follow the central government's instructions," Mahanta said. 

After India and Japan, the UK is also likely to make Covid-19 tests mandatory for travellers from China after the infection surged in the mainland, Reuters reported citing British media outlets.The travellers from China have to produce a negative COVID test report. According to Reuters citing UK media reports, the UK government is all set to announce the new China arrival policy without providing specific details about the time.This comes at a time when the United States is considering imposing new Covid-19 measures on travellers coming from China amid the surge of new Covid cases, Reuters reported citing a US official."There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing COVID-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC," the officials said, using the initials of the People's Republic of China, according to Reuters.Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday announced that the RT-PCR test had been made mandatory for passengers coming from five countries including China.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Chinese officials and again asked for specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation in China, according to the statement released by the WHO website.In the high-level meeting, WHO asked for more genetic sequencing data, data on disease impact including hospitalisations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths -- and data on vaccinations delivered and vaccination status, especially in vulnerable people and those over 60 years old.

France is the latest country which joined several other nations in demanding negative COVID-19 tests from travellers from China, Reuters reported. France has made covid test results mandatory from travellers from China within 48 hours before departure, Reuters reported citing health and transport ministries. All the flights coming from China, including the stopovers, must have a Covid test and the travellers need to wear masks.From January 1, France will carry out random PCR Covid tests on some travellers coming from China as the mandatory testing will take "a little while," according to Reuters.The government also recommended that people with weak immune systems delay non-essential travel to China.Having kept its borders all but shut for three years, imposing a "zero-covid" policy and strict testing, Beijing abruptly reversed course toward living with the virus on December 7, and infections have spread rapidly in recent weeks, as per Reuters.

The omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 makes up to 40.5 per cent of new infections across the United States, according to The Hill citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant as of this week has pushed out the BQ.1 and the BQ.1.1 subvariants from their previous positions as the most detected coronavirus mutations. The XBB subvariant, from which XBB.1.5 descends, is a recombinant of two subvariants that descended from the BA.2 omicron subvariant. That means it carries genetic data from two versions of the coronavirus that originated from the BA.2 subvariant, The Hill reported.  Regionally, XBB.1.5 now accounts for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the northeast, identified as causing 75 percent of cases in New England and in the New York tri-state area. The omicron subvariants XBB and XBB.1 were first identified in India. Some scientists, including Scripps Research Institute professor of molecular medicine Eric Topol, have put forward the possibility that XBB.1.5 could have mutated in New York. In a new set of restrictions amid a spike in covid infections in China, the United States (US) will require all visitors from China to present a negative Covid-19 test result before boarding a flight to the country, CNN reported on Wednesday. Through a telehealth service, the testing can be either PCR tests or antigen self-tests.