UK New strain infected 71 so far, WHO complains about China

Covid-19 updates

India recorded 18,088 new covid cases on Wednesday, summing up the total infections in the country to over 1.03 crores. The death toll rose to 1.5 lakhs as 264 deaths were reported. The dripping covid case isn't able to downplay the spread of new mutant virus that originated in the United Kingdom and is slowly tightening its grip around the globe. As of now, 71 patients are infected by this new strain of virus. The experts claimed that this mutant virus is 70% deadlier and more contagious than the previous one that the world encountered. In order to cease the spread of the virus, several countries have cancelled all the arriving and departing flights from and to the UK and other European countries.

After the approval and successful announcement of two vaccines- Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech in association with Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and Oxford's Covishield, hitting the headlines, Union Health Ministry is planning out the rollout for inoculation programme by end of this month. However, the final call to execute the vaccination drive resides in the hands of the central government. The country is apprehensive of the adversities the surge of this new virus can bring to us. After combating the high rise of cases, peaking to almost 1 lakh a day last year India has finally made attempts to curb down the misery to 20,000. The diverse spread of this virus will take us back to March 2020 starting it all over again.

Moreover, the World Health Organization's (WHO) director general also expressed displeasure  about China's attempts to deny the entry of the incoming WHO team to investigate the origins of the virus in the nation. China is delaying the visas for the team in order to stop the investigation. In Europe, one out of 50 people is infected with coronavirus indicated by British government. Germany imposed a strict lockdown with tightened restrictions. Italy also adopted measures to prevent reemergence of cases.

After two members of the 10 strong international team who already boarded the journey to China have been denied entry WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his discontentment in an online conference in Geneva on Tuesday. This has been followed by a series of speculations and the only one fact still standing true is that the world has been struggling to make its way out of this pandemic.