At least four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China’s current surge of Covid instances, have been detected in India so far, official sources said Wednesday.
Gujarat Biotechnology Research Center saw the first BF.7 in India in October. So far, they said two cases had been reported from Gujarat, while one point has been reported from Odisha.
However, according to the Gujarat health department, two patients infected with BF.7 & BF 12 variants of Omicron were reported in July-October-November-2022. These patients were treated in home isolation & have fully recovered.
No increase in COVID cases as of now
In the Covid review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Wednesday, experts said. However, there is no overall increase in the Covid caseload as of now; there is a need for continued surveillance to keep track of existing and emerging variants.
According to official sources, Chinese cities are currently hit by the highly virulent Omicron strain, mostly BF.7, which is the main variant spreading in Beijing and is contributing to a broader surge of Covid infections in that country.
“The BF.7’s high transmissibility in China might be attributed to a low level of immunity in the Chinese population from the previous infection and possibly vaccination too,” an official source said.
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