‘Not variants, but flouting of mask rule tied to rise in cases’ | India News – Times of India
HYDERABAD: Ruling out the spike in Covid-19 cases to any new variants, Hyderabadbased Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) director Dr Rakesh Mishra said the rise in positive cases is due to people not wearing the masks and taking it easy.
Dr Mishra told TOI that there’re no new variants or mutations which are more virulent than existing strains. “Out of all the cases we are getting, only 5-6% are of UK strain. We’re on watch to check whether any new strain is emerging,” he said.
He further said, “As long as there’re a large number of active cases in the country, there’s a likelihood of virus mutating and new variants coming up.” He said the biggest challenge is to bring down the infection rate. “For this, wearing the mask is the best solution,” he asserted. The CCMB chief said people should adhere to the ‘social vaccine’ like wearing the mask, avoiding crowds and maintaining hygiene.
Dr Mishra said with more than three lakh actives cases, there’s a risk of the new variant. “Around 7,000 mutants have been identified so far,” he added. Researchers said Covid-19 vaccine would not be effective on 15% of the population. They also said most of the 7,000 mutations observed are inconsequential and have no impact.
Dr Mishra told TOI that there’re no new variants or mutations which are more virulent than existing strains. “Out of all the cases we are getting, only 5-6% are of UK strain. We’re on watch to check whether any new strain is emerging,” he said.
He further said, “As long as there’re a large number of active cases in the country, there’s a likelihood of virus mutating and new variants coming up.” He said the biggest challenge is to bring down the infection rate. “For this, wearing the mask is the best solution,” he asserted. The CCMB chief said people should adhere to the ‘social vaccine’ like wearing the mask, avoiding crowds and maintaining hygiene.
Dr Mishra said with more than three lakh actives cases, there’s a risk of the new variant. “Around 7,000 mutants have been identified so far,” he added. Researchers said Covid-19 vaccine would not be effective on 15% of the population. They also said most of the 7,000 mutations observed are inconsequential and have no impact.
