(Juhi Aishwarya Intern Journalist):
New Delhi: India has 2,411 new infections in the past 24 hours, bringing a positive total of COVID-19 cases to 37,776. It was the highest peak ever recorded in the country in 24 hours. The death toll also rose to 1,223 with 71 victims in one day across the country, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday evening. Out of a total of 37,776 cases, 26,535 are active cases, while 10,018 people have been cured of the fatal disease and discharged from hospitals.
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, Maharashtra remains the most affected state with 11,506 positive cases of COVID-19. The death toll in the state also rose to 485. 1,879 people were also treated and deported to the state.
Maharashtra was followed by Gujarat, which has 4,721 cases of COVID-19 and 236 deaths, while 735 people were treated and expelled from the state. The national capital, Delhi, remains the third most affected Indian state, with 3,738 cases and 61 deaths. At the same time, 1,167 people in the national capital were also treated and expelled from hospitals. Meanwhile, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) plans to investigate whether the new strain of coronavirus in India has mutated as it has spread across the country in the past two months. According to a senior scientist from the country’s main health research organization, determining if the SARS-CoV2 strain has changed shape will help ensure the effectiveness of a possible vaccine. “The study will also indicate whether it has become more virulent and whether it has increased transmission capacity.”
Samples will be taken from patients with COVID-19 to study whether or not the new strain of coronavirus has changed, he said, the PTI news agency reported.
However, the study can begin once the blockade is lifted, as it is currently difficult to transport samples from different states and Union territories, the scientists said. Chances are that people arriving in India from different countries carry different strains of the virus. To date, three strains of the virus have been found in India. One came from Wuhan and the other two from Italy and Iran. The sequence of the Iranian coronavirus strain was similar to that of China.
“It will take some time to learn more about the predominant quasispecies of the new coronavirus in the country. But the mutations are unlikely to make potential vaccines ineffective because all virus subtypes have the same enzymes. also in India for three years and that is not changing very quickly, “said the head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at ICMR, dr. Raman R Gangakhedkar. The government also extended the national blockade for another two weeks on Friday, starting May 4.
The third phase of the blockade will end on May 17, 2020. However, in its order, the government said that the blockade had been extended with significant easing.
