DNA Special: As new Covid variant BF.7 is wreaking havoc in China, know how India plans to tackle it

The emergency wards in China’s hospitals remain flooded and dead bodies remain piled up in crematoria due to the sudden surge of Covid cases in the country. This has also sparked fear in the people of India, and the Union Health Ministry has asked all citizens not to panic.

China strictly implemented the zero Covid policy, but the situation still did not improve. China is heading towards the biggest epidemic in its history today. Today, the situation is such that China's medical services have completely collapsed due to the increased number of patients. There are no beds left in hospitals, no medical kits left, nor are patients getting medicines.

There is a rumor spread in China that Covid can be avoided by eating cherries. Given the covid-19 situation in China, everyone wants to buy and eat cherries. The rumour that cherries can prevent Covid has been widely spread in China, leading to the shortage of fruit in supermarkets, where people are choosing cherries over their basic essentials.

During the Corona infection, it was said in India that vitamin C is very important for immunity. A similar thing is spread in China as well. The people of China have now resorted to buying massive amounts of oranges and lemons to avoid getting coronavirus.

The variant of Corona that has caused chaos in China is being called BF.7. This is a changed form of the Omicron variant itself. It is being called the most dangerous and powerful variant of Omicron.

The Delta variant had wreaked havoc in India, while the Omicron variant did not do much damage. But this variant of Omicron is causing the most damage in China. The reason is that this variant is infecting both infected people and those who have been vaccinated. Its symptoms are also coming sooner than all previous variants.

Apart from this, the infection is spreading from 1 patient to 10 to 18 people on average from 1 patient of the BF.7 variant of Omicron. That means 1 patient is infecting 10 to 18 people. For this reason, corona cases in China are doubling in a few hours. The BF.7 variant of Corona's omicron is a major threat to China.

In the midst of the rising fears regarding the spread of Covid BF.7 variant in India, the Union Health Ministry issued an important advisory, urging people to resort to using face masks in crowded and public places. The genome sequencing and Covid-19 testing in all of the states have also been increased in view of the rising threat to public health.

The Health Ministry also said that all the international airports will conduct random testing for all international passengers, especially those flying in from at-risk countries. There are several solid reasons why the Indian government has asked citizens not to panic.

First, India has had a record vaccination, while China has had much less vaccination than India.

Second, India's vaccine is very effective, and the whole world has trusted India's vaccine and took the vaccine from India, China's vaccine has been constantly questioned and it is not considered effective.

Third, herd immunity has been developed in Indian citizens. Meanwhile, in China, the zero-Covid policy has not been able to develop herd immunity in the community. Herd immunity means that your body is able to fight the virus on its own. And in the countries where herd immunity has developed, the cases of death have been very low despite the increase in corona cases later.

Fourth, the policy of living with Corona was beneficial because it developed herd immunity in people. China has imposed a continuous lockdown to deal with Corona, as a result of which the situation has worsened.

The Union Health Ministry has advised all Indians to follow due precautions and wear masks in crowded places, especially during the festive season.

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