BackCovid-19: RNA virus keeps mutating, AIIMS doctor explains how fatal can be the recent surge
The number of cases might increase which doesn't matter much as RNA virus (COVID) keeps mutating. Increased severity & death toll matters, the expert said.
PremiumAs there is an uptick in COVID cases in some parts of the country, experts pointed out that the RNA virus (e.g. coronavirus) keeps mutating so the rise in the number of cases doesn't matter, what matters is its severity and if it can cause death.
Regarding the recent COVID outbreak, Dr Sanjay Rai, Professor at Centre for Community Medicine dept at AIIMS, Delhi told news agency ANI, “The long-term impact might not be much right now. The number of cases might increase which doesn't matter much as RNA virus keeps mutating. Increased severity & death toll matters, which is unlikely."
Speaking about the current COVID situation, he said that in the view of the second and third waves, the situation in our country can be considered great right now. However, “these types of viruses don't end quickly and fluctuations will keep happening. We should move toward normalcy."
Maharashtra and 4 other states show surge in COVID cases
In the past one week, a slight upsurge in COVID cases is being noticed as 15,708 cases were reported in the week ending 27th May which has gone up to 21,055 cases till June 3. There is also a rise in weekly positivity from 0.52% to 0.73% during the week. However, on Saturday, there was a marginal dip in the COVID-19 cases as the country logged 3,962 fresh infections in the last 24 hours.
Maharashtra, which was one of the worst affected states in the first and the second wave, is again seeing a sharp rise in the number of cases. Other states that are also witnessing a slight surge include Kerala, Karanataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
Closely monitor emerging COVID clusters: Centre to states
The Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to these five states to closely monitor emerging clusters of COVID-19 cases and maintain an adequate number of tests, and send samples from infected individuals for genome sequencing. "There are few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India's cases indicating the possibility of a localised spread of infection. There is, therefore, a need to follow a risk assessment based approach on the public health responses without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic," read the letter.
(With inputs from agencies)
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