Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the new BF.7 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus, which is causing a surge in cases in many countries, has not been detected in Delhi so far, adding that his government is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality. At a press conference, Kejriwal said that the dominant sub-variant in Delhi is XBB, which has been detected in 92 percent of samples so far. Kejriwal convened a meeting at his residence on the Covid situation amid a surge in cases in many countries.
Currently, 2,500 tests are being carried out, which may be increased to one million if there is an increase in Covid cases. Assuring that the government was monitoring the situation, he said no new variants were detected after sewage was tested at seven locations in Delhi. “Testing wastewater helps to determine if any new virus has emerged. Wastewater from seven sites has been tested and so far there has been no indication of a new virus or variant,” he told reporters.
The Chief Minister also claimed that they are self-sufficient in terms of availability and storage of oxygen. During the second wave of Covid last year, Delhi was grappling with an oxygen shortage with hospitals sending out SOS messages on social media about running out of supplies. “We have enough oxygen. Earlier, we did not have storage facilities, but now we also have oxygen storage capacities,” he added. “We have 8,000 beds ready for Covid patients. At its peak, we had 25,000 beds ready, but the bed capacity can be increased up to 36,000. “The government has also expanded the scope of testing and people with SARS and respiratory problems are mandatorily tested using the RT-PCR method,” he added.
He said only 24 percent of the eligible population had taken the preventative dose and urged people to get the jab. A new BF.7 variant of the novel coronavirus has been detected in some parts of India and is believed to be linked to the rise in Covid cases in some countries. Asked if there were any plans to restore the mask mandate, he said they were awaiting the Centre’s instructions on the matter. He was also asked whether random sampling of passengers at airports would also be started. “The center will take the call and we will provide the manpower and facilities,” he said.
Amid a spike in Covid cases in parts of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday warned against complacency and ordered officials to strengthen ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports. His assertion was made during a high-level meeting he chaired to review the country’s COVID-19 situation, preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, the status of the vaccination campaign and the emergence of new variants and their impact on public health.
Modi urged everyone to always follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded public places, especially in view of the upcoming holidays, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Delhi’s daily case count is falling after touching a record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 percent on January 14, the highest during the wave of the pandemic caused by the Omicron variant. BF.7 has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, UK and European countries such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark.
But experts said BF.7 shouldn’t worry India too much because many people have developed immunity to the virus, either through vaccination or previous infection, unlike China, where people have low immunity to Covid due to strict restrictions. “The government is proactive and its guidelines are scientific. We should be cautious given the spike in cases in several countries, but any new variant of Omicron is unlikely to cause much trouble in India,” said Dr Jugal Kishore, head of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital.
