According to the Union Health Ministry, India recorded 594 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, raising the total number of active cases to 2,669 from 2,311 the previous day.
As India witnesses a spike in Covid-19 cases, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Dr Raman Gangakhedkar has suggested a new normal lifestyle with coronavirus.
In an interview with News18, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar has suggested that the public does not need to 'worry' about the new variant. He said, "Surges will inevitably occur, but in the majority of cases, there is no need to panic".
He added, "Virus continues to live with us and it will continue to come up as a new variant after a gap of few months…As long as there is no increase in cases of hospitalisation and deaths, there is no reason to ring an alarm."
He advised that "elderly or people with prevailing health conditions must understand by now that they need to upgrade their protection strategy once cases start going up as a part of their lifestyle".
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According to the Union Health Ministry, India recorded 594 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, raising the total number of active cases to 2,669 from 2,311 the previous day.
Gangakhedkar claims that in the United States, the JN.1 strain has infected 31% of cases or nearly one in three people.
"The mutation was discovered for the first time in September in the US and has since been identified in about 40 other nations. The world had sufficient time to study the virus and by now, we know that the virus hasn't caused higher deaths in the US," he said.
He recommended that those who are considered vulnerable or at-risk learn how to take care of themselves and start acting in a way that is acceptable for the Covid-19 pandemic right away. He advised, "Wearing a mask and social distancing won't just save you from Covid-19 but also from several other respiratory infections circulating during this weather and pollution."
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In response to a question about whether the Union government ought to expand its genomic surveillance sample size, Gangakhedkar stated that "investing in smart genomic surveillance will optimise yields."
Gangakhedkar suggests that it would "be a less costly and more effective way." The surveillance findings would show the regions with higher hospitalization rates.
The virus has been pushed to its limits by humans, according to Gangakhedkar, and new strains will keep appearing. He did stress that there isn't a major threat at the moment.
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 "'Virus continues to...': Top Epidemiologist reacts to rising Covid-19 cases in India")
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