'Eris' Variant: Maharashtra reports first case of new variant of Covid-19; 'no threat imminent'

last year

Covid-19 cases are showing signs of increase in Maharashtra once again after a prolonged gap. For the first time, a new sub-variant that has been lately responsible for spike in cases in UK and USA has been detected in the state. This new strain was detected in Maharashtra in May. As two months have passed since its detection and there has been no significant surge in the cases due to this strain,

#Eriscovid19variant #ErisMaharashtra #Covid19omicron

~HT.97~PR.153~ED.155~

Transcript

00:00 COVID-19 cases are showing signs of increase in Maharashtra once again after a prolonged

00:06 gap.

00:07 For the first time, a new sub-variant that has been lately responsible for spike in cases

00:12 in UK and USA has been detected in the state.

00:15 This new strain was detected in Maharashtra in early May.

00:18 As two months have passed since its detection and there has been no significant surge in

00:22 the cases due to this strain, the authorities say that this new variant has not been able

00:27 to make any impact in the country so far.

00:30 But what exactly is this new strain of Omicron that is behind the surge in COVID cases in

00:35 the West?

00:36 Let's get into more detail.

00:39 Few days back, the WHO had sounded an alert after the health authorities in the United

00:43 Kingdom were said to be on their toes after a new variant of the COVID-19 virus was reported

00:49 to be spreading in the country at a fast pace.

00:52 That sub-variant was named ARIS.

00:55 In technical terms, it is being referred as EG5.1 and is spreading very quickly across

01:00 the entire UK.

01:02 Although the cases were spiking in the UK, but the variant ARIS was recognised only on

01:06 31 July after the infections from the virus had skyrocketed.

01:11 EG5.1 was first raised as a signal in monitoring on 3 July as part of horizon scanning due

01:18 to increasing reports internationally, particularly in Asia.

01:23 It was subsequently raised from a signal in monitoring to a variant on 31 July due to

01:28 the increasing number of genomes in UK data and continued growth internationally.

01:32 Right now, it is just a variant of interest.

01:35 More data will reveal whether it would be declared a variant of concern.

01:40 ARIS has inherited some of its symptoms from the parent Omicron strain.

01:44 The top five symptoms associated with the new variant are runny nose, headache, mild

01:49 or severe fatigue, sneezing and sore throat.

01:53 The UK Health Security Agency has said that ARIS now accounts for one in seven new COVID

01:58 cases.

01:59 The latest data suggests it now accounts for 14.6% of cases and is the second most prevalent

02:05 strain in the UK.

02:06 The medical experts from the health agency pointed out that the overall rate of hospital

02:10 admission still remains extremely low and the health department of the UK is following

02:15 the situation closely.

02:17 The WHO had started tracking the EG5.1 variant just over two weeks ago when its director

02:23 general said that though people are better protected by vaccines and prior infections,

02:27 countries should not let down their guard.

02:30 But WHO has not classified it as a variant of concern so far and the cases from this

02:35 strain are mostly being reported from UK and USA.

02:38 So, at this moment, there is nothing to worry about in India as far as this strain of Omicron

02:44 is concerned.

02:44 Subscribe to One India Channel and never miss an update.

03:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]

'Eris' Variant: Maharashtra reports first case of new variant of Covid-19; 'no threat imminent'

Category

Transcript

Recommended