\u2018Like UK variant squared\u2019
\nThe variant from India is perhaps the most contagious coronavirus mutation on the planet, according to Tom Wenseleers, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Leuven in Belgium.
\nWenseleers was the first scientist to claim that the UK variant was more transmissible than other versions of the virus, a claim first disputed but later affirmed by other experts.
\n\u201cThe new variant from India has a very big transmission or growth advantage,\u201d even over the UK mutation, he said in an interview with an American radio network, NPR. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like the UK variant squared.\u201d
\nWenseleers told NPR that this advantage was fueling the massive outbreak in India, on top of other contributing factors, such as recent mass gatherings, election rallies and relaxing of precautions.
\nThe NPR report noted that over the winter, the situation in India looked normal: Covid-19 case numbers were flat and even dropping.
\nThen in the middle of February and early March, the situation quickly shifted. The virus surged explosively. Now India is battling a horrific second wave of Covid-19, reporting about 400,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths every day.
\nDr Roderico H. Ofrin, the World Health Organisation\u2019s (WHO) representative to India, however, puts more blame on India\u2019s failure to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs). \u201cWe saw that people were not behaving in a way that was appropriate to slowing Covid-19, and I think that\u2019s why we are where we are,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are many reasons, but basically, we gave the virus a chance to keep transmitting.\u201d
\n\u2018No model to predict virus spread\u2019
\nDr Yasmin Ali Haque, the Unicef representative in India, said in the same UN report that it would take years to overcome the consequences of this pandemic.
\n\u201cWe are already seeing the secondary effects, especially on children and the poorest and most marginalised groups,\u201d she said.
\nDr Haque pointed out that only about 50 per cent of children in India have access to remote learning. That means that around 150 million children of school-going age did not have access. \u201cWe are already hearing of stories of an increase in child labour, the early marriage of girls especially and even child trafficking.\u201d
\nThe UN report warned that the current test positivity rate in India, 19pc, was too high. It noted that the infection pattern in India was similar to what was seen in Europe or the United States, but the scale was very different.
\nAcknowledging that the density of the population was probably also a factor, the report identified that matching the scale of the surge with the scale of the response was the real problem.
\n\u201cThis virus is adapting so fast, that no model has been able to predict how it will spread,\u201d it warned. \u201cWe have to be ahead of the game: it\u2019s a cycle of preparedness, readiness, response, and recovery. You can\u2019t stop.\u201d
\nBut the report also noted that India has vast experience of mass vaccination and it would learn to meet this enormous challenge as well.
\n\u2018Virus surge threatens to reverse gains\u2019
\nAnother UN report warned that the \u201cdeadly new surge in South Asia threatens to reverse global gains against the Covid-19 pandemic and have disproportionate impact on children.\u201d
\nThe report \u2014 which includes inputs by the Unicef and WHO \u2014 noted that countries across South Asia were witnessing rises in infections, with India accounting for over 90pc of both infections and deaths in the region.
\nPakistan was also experiencing a major surge in Covid-19 and the number of cases increased rapidly in recent weeks, with daily cases reaching a seven-day average of 5,500 cases per day, up from an average of 1,100 cases per day in February, the report added.
\nA humanitarian bulletin from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that the pandemic had impacted the healthcare system in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with hospitals reporting shortages of available beds, oxygen, and other essential supplies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scenes we are witnessing in South Asia are unlike anything our region has seen before,\u201d said George Laryea-Adjei, Uniced Regional Director for South Asia. \u201cWe are faced with a real possibility that our health systems will be strained to a breaking point \u2014 leading to even more loss of life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Like UK variant squared\u2019 The variant from India is perhaps the most contagious coronavirus mutation on the planet, according to Tom Wenseleers, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Leuven in Belgium. Wenseleers was the first scientist to claim that the UK variant was more transmissible than other versions of the virus, a claim first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n