The Russian capital began a nonworking period on Thursday (November 4) to combat coronavirus infections, as the number of new daily cases and deaths from deadly virus reached all-time highs.
In addition, the Chinese city of Lanzhou, located in northwest Gansu province, has been placed under lockdown in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Residents of the city are not
allowed to leave their homes unless there is an emergency.
Amid the reports of unfortunate Covid outbreak, WHO documented as many as 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia facing a "real threat" of a resurgence of the corona pandemic in the coming weeks. Those which are already dealing with a new wave of infections exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus can see a heavy case rise.
"We've reached another critical point in the pandemic's resurgence. Europe has returned to the epicentre of the pandemic, where we were a year ago,” said WHO Europe Director
Hans Kluge.
Meanwhile, in India, genomic sequencing of COVID-19 samples in Karnataka has revealed two positive patients in Bengaluru, both infected with the AY.4.2 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which
is suspected of being the source of the outbreak in the UK, Germany, and Russia.
AY.4.2 is reportedly about 10% more infectious than its "parent" variant, the Delta variant, and could eventually replace it.
Even though D. Randeep, the Karnataka Health Commissioner, has stated that the discovery of the new Covid variant AY 4.2 in the state is no reason to panic, it will be beneficial to be ready
for what could fall ahead.
Experts on third wave in India
Unless there is a new immune escaping variant, India is unlikely to see another Covid wave as devastating as the second one. However, the lower number of cases does not necessarily mean
the pandemic is now endemic, said experts.
According to experts, a dipping Covid graph is only part of the picture and pointed to factors such as the mortality rate, the need for a larger vaccination blanket. The health officials
point out examples of countries such as the UK where numbers are once again rising.
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Virologist Shahid Jameel, a day after India reached the milestone of 100 crore Covid vaccine doses said that vaccination rates have improved significantly but more work needs to be done.
"I'm not sure we've yet reached endemic position. There is still a long way to go as we celebrate this (100 crore) milestone. We're on our way to endemicity, but we're
not quite there yet " he added.
He also mentioned that the number of daily confirmed COVID cases in India has been slowly declining over the last three months, from around 40,000 to around 15,000 per day.
On Friday, the Union Health Ministry reported 15,786 new COVID-19 cases, marking 28 days of daily increases of less than 30,000. With 231 deaths, the death toll has risen to 4,53,042.
Jameel, one of India's most well-known virologists, also noted that the country's mortality rate has remained stable at around 1.2 percent.
Safety measures necessary
Cases of Covid-19 have significantly decreased since the second wave in India. The Centre and states, on the other hand, have emphasised the importance of wearing masks and keeping a safe
distance during the festive season.
The Centre had asked states and union territories to take "utmost precautions weeks before the festival season in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, despite several warnings,
a crowd of people was seen at markets and other public places as Indian celebrated Diwali on November 4.
Dr Balram Bhargava, Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research warns "Vaccinations do not prevent the disease but may only reduce its severity."