Danger of Corona 4th Wave

Corona again became uncontrollable in 7 states of the country

Once again, corona cases have started increasing all over the world including India. The process of getting new corona patients is increasing in Delhi, Gurugram and Mumbai. In such a situation, once again there is a danger of fourth wave of corona.

Of the total 734 districts in the country, there are 29 such where the weekly positivity rate is more than 5%. That is, according to WHO, the infection in these districts is still uncontrollable. Of these, the condition is worse in 23. In these 23 districts, the positivity rate is more than 10%, while there are 8 districts where the positivity rate is more than 20%. Positivity rate means how many corona patients are being found for every 100 tests.

How many corona patients are being found in the country right now?

•    The process of meeting corona patients is increasing again in the country. More than 1 thousand new corona patients were found in the country on Tuesday and Wednesday. Whereas for the last few days, around 700 to 800 corona cases were coming in the country.
• ·         This is the first time after the last two months, when the number of people recovering from corona is less than the newly found patients. On Tuesday, only 1081 people have been cured of Corona.
•          So far more than 4.30 crore people have been infected with corona in the country. A total of 5.21 lakh deaths have taken place in the country so far. The number of active cases has also increased to more than 11 thousand.
•          Corona cases are increasing rapidly once again in Delhi too. Here after 2 months the corona positivity rate has gone up to 2.70%. Earlier on February 5, the positivity rate was 2.87. At present, about 100 to 200 new corona patients are being found daily in Delhi. On Wednesday, 299 new cases of corona were found in Delhi, before that on Tuesday, the report of 202 people came positive. That is, 50% more cases were reported from the previous day.
•     The situation in Gurugram, Haryana, adjacent to Delhi, is deteriorating rapidly. On Wednesday, 148 patients of Corona were found here. This is the highest in the last 40 days. At the same time, less than 30 cases were being received till the end of last month.
•       Corona cases have started increasing in the country's financial capital Mumbai as well. 73 new patients were found in Mumbai on Wednesday. This is the highest since March 17. Experts say that this is an alarming situation for the fourth wave. We need to be very careful.

First of all, know in which districts of the country the corona positivity rate is more than 5%

• ·         Before proceeding further in the news let us know the positivity rate. If 100 people were tested in your colony and 20 active cases came out, then the positivity rate would be 20%.
• ·         Usually, if the positivity rate is between 4 to 5 percent, then the situation is considered controlled, but WHO says that if it is more than 5% then the situation has become uncontrollable.
• ·         At present, the weekly positivity rate in India is only 0.24%. However, in 29 districts of 7 states of the country, the positivity rate is more than 5% weekly i.e. between April 5 and 11. These 7 states are Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Haryana, Manipur and Odisha.
• ·         14 districts of Kerala where corona positivity rate is more than 10%. While there are 5 districts where the positivity rate is more than 15%. While there are 2 districts where it is more than 20%.
• ·         After Kerala, Mizoram is the only state where the positivity rate is more than 5% in 10 districts. In 7 districts it is 10% and in 5 districts it is more than 20%.
• ·         In Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh 100% i.e. all the people are infected with corona. At the same time, the corona positivity rate in Lahaul Spiti, Himachal Pradesh is 12.50%.
• ·     The maximum number of corona cases are increasing in Gurugram, Haryana. Here the weekly positivity rate has increased to 5.81%.
• ·             The weekly positivity rate in Manipur Tengnoupal district is 5.41%. In Khordha district of Odisha it is 8.68%.

 Which states has the Center warned about Corona?

·         Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the threat of corona is not over yet. People should take precautions to stay safe.

·         On Tuesday, Mandaviya held a meeting with the top experts of the country as the cases increased in many states of the country. During this, Mandaviya also instructed the states to increase surveillance and special vigilance.

·         Mandaviya said that the situation of Kovid-19 is under control, the government is continuously monitoring it and advising the states. We cannot predict tomorrow.

·         Earlier, the Ministry of Health had issued a warning for five states amid rising cases of Kovid in China and America. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written a letter to the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra and Mizoram. The states have been asked to increase vigilance and seriously investigate the reasons for the increase in the rate of infection.

·         The Health Secretary had said that the daily positivity rate is increasing in these states, that is, the number of new corona patients found every day has increased. In view of this, the state governments should seriously review the situation and if necessary issue new guidelines regarding Kovid-19.

In which countries of the world are the cases of corona increasing rapidly?

• ·         At present, cases of corona are increasing rapidly in South Korea, Germany, France, Vietnam, Italy, China, America. Omicron's sub-variant BA.2 and XE variant, being called 'Stealth Omicron', are believed to be responsible behind this latest wave of corona.
• ·         South Korea is getting the maximum number of daily cases at this time. For the last one week, on an average, about 2 lakh cases are coming here every day. Every day an average of 300 deaths are being reported from Corona here. Omicron's sub-variant BA.2 is responsible for more than half of the corona cases in South Korea.
• ·         Corona cases are increasing continuously in Germany. On an average 1.5 lakh corona cases are coming here every day. Here too, the Omicron variant is responsible for 76% of corona cases.
• ·         On Wednesday, 1189 new cases of corona have been reported in Shanghai, China, while 25141 such infected have been identified, who do not have any symptoms of corona. With this, there have been more than 26000 corona patients in Shanghai. These cases are being found amid strict lockdown in Shanghai.

Why is Stealth Omicron dangerous?

·         Omicron has three sub-strains: BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3. Of these, BA.2 is believed to be the most contagious.

·         The BA.1 strain was responsible for 99% of Omicron cases by the end of December 2021, but in the past two-three months, the BA.2 strain has rapidly replaced it.

·    Omicron's sub-variant (BA.2) has a different mutation in the S gene, the spike protein, than its previous dominant strain (BA.1), making it difficult for Omicron to be detected in the drop out test. If the S gene is not found in the corona sample test, then the person is known to be infected with Omicron.

·      Genome sequencing is the only way to catch a new variant of the corona, but not everyone can get it tested. Only the government gets this investigation done. Genome sequencing is a very expensive process, taking several days to report.

What is the danger to India?

The third wave in India has been on a steady slope since February and experts believe that the latest wave is over in the country. For this reason, Kovid restrictions have been relaxed in India and strictness regarding masks and social distancing is negligible, but when Corona is making a comeback in many developed countries including China. In such a situation, its danger in India also cannot be ruled out.