Masks And Covid Appropriate Behavior To Continue: Health Ministry

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya, in consultation with senior health officials of the government, decided to continue masks and Covid-19 appropriate behaviour across the country, as reported by the news agency ANI.

On Tuesday, the health minister met the health officials in the light of a new sub-variant of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 recorded across India.

Niti Aayog member VK Paul, Chairperson and members of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) NK Arora and members of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) were also present in the meeting, as per the official sources.

This comes at the backdrop of a 17.7 per cent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases from Maharashtra, which comprises cases of the new XBB sub-variant of the Omicron variant. Already, the Kerala government is on high alert because of the reported new sub-variant from across the state.

The new spike in Covid-19 in Singapore is mainly ascribed to the XBB sub-variant of the Omricon Covid variant. It is a recombinant lineage between two Omicron sublineages, BJ.1 and BA.2.75. It is relatively more contagious than any other variant of the virus.

 The sub-variant not only has evasive immune properties but also has a growth advantage over BA.2.75, informed the Maharashtra health department.

 Moreover, cases from other sub-variants of Omicron, including the BA.2.3.20 and BQ.1 variants, have also been recorded. On Monday, they were discovered for the first time in India from a patient's blood sample in Pune.

Afterwards, the state health department and experts have asked people to not ignore flu-like symptoms and to seek medical attention immediately. Moreover, recommendations were made to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour in public places and get vaccinated in compliance with government guidelines.