Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said coronavirus has not gone away and keeps resurfacing, and cautioned people not to let their guard down in the battle against the pandemic.
Nobody ever knows when the ‘bahurupiya’ (one that changes form) Covid-19 will resurface, Prime Minister Modi said, adding that administering nearly 185 crore doses of vaccines to control its spread was made possible due to public support.
Addressing via video conferencing an event of Maa Umiya Dham in Gujarat’s Junagadh district, Modi urged devotees of Maa Umiya to turn to natural farming with the aim to save Mother Earth from the scourge of chemical fertilisers.
“Corona (pandemic) was a big crisis, and we are not saying that the crisis is over. It may have taken a pause, but we never know when it will resurface. It is a ‘bahurupiya’ disease. To stop this, nearly 185 crore doses were administered, which surprises the world. This has been made possible due to your support,” Modi said.
He said there is a need to save Mother Earth. ““Farmers from each village in Gujarat should come forward for natural farming,” he said.
He also asked them to participate in creating 75 Amrit Sarovars (lakes) in each district as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, being organised on the 75th year of India’s Independence. Amid a global rise in Covid cases driven by BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, India is also seeing a slow yet steady rise in the number of infections in several states.
Delhi, Haryana, and Gujarat have seen a rise in the seven-day average of daily cases. Delhi on April 7 saw 176 new cases – the highest daily rise since March 10.
‘Large Covid outbreaks in Asia, new wave in Europe’
With new Covid-19 variants emerging every four months on average, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cautioned that the pandemic is far from over as large outbreaks are spreading in Asia.
Guterres also called for governments and pharma companies to work together to deliver vaccines to every person, everywhere. In a video message ‘One World Protected – Break COVID Now’ to the GAVI COVAX Advance Market Commitment Summit 2022, Guterres said Friday that the gathering is a critical reminder that the “COVID-19 pandemic is far from over.” “We’re seeing 1.5 million new cases each day. Large outbreaks are spreading in Asia. A new wave is sweeping across Europe,” he said, adding that some countries are reporting their highest death rates since the start of the pandemic.
He said the Omicron variant is a “startling reminder” of how quickly COVID-19 can mutate and spread – especially in the absence of high vaccination coverage. While some high-income countries are preparing for their second booster doses, one-third of humanity remains unvaccinated, he rued.
“This is a brutal indictment of our deeply unequal world. It’s also a prime breeding ground for new variants- more deaths and increased human and economic misery,” he said. Guterres said the next variant is not a question of “if” but of “when.” “We are far from our target of every country reaching 70 per cent vaccination coverage by the middle of this year. And with new variants emerging every four months on average, time is of the essence,” he said. He added that governments and pharmaceutical companies need to work together to deliver vaccines to every person, everywhere – not just in wealthy countries.
A new strain of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, appears to be more transmissible than previous strains of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) had said.
WHO said last week that the XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2), was first detected in the United Kingdom on January 19 and more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since.
“Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of 10 per cent as compared to BA.2. However, this finding requires further confirmation,” WHO had said.
It added that XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported.
“WHO continues to closely monitor and assess the public health risk associated with recombinant variants, alongside other SARS-CoV-2 variants, and will provide updates as further evidence becomes available.”