No, Kerala does not have any new variant of Covid, clarifies health ministry

While it is true that coronavirus infection is spreading fast in Kerala and cases of reinfections have been reported from the state, the surge is not linked to any new variant.

Health ministry said no new variant of Covid has been found in Kerala.

Around 88 to 90 per cent of Covid cases in Kerala are driven by Variant of Concern Delta, but no new variant has been found in Kerala, the Union health ministry clarified refuting some media reports. “The news about new variants suspected in Kerala is without any basis and absolutely false,” the ministry said. Continuing its upward trend, the state, which is the main cause for concern in India now, recorded 23,500 fresh Covid cases on Wednesday.

A six-member central team recently visited a few worst-hit districts of the state and submitted a report to the Centre. In the report, several factors including laxity in containment, a higher percentage of elderly and diabetic population etc., have been pointed out. The team has also sought more information regarding the cases of reinfections, Dr Sujeet Singh, director of the National Centre for Disease Control said.

15,000 Covid reinfections in Kerala district? 10 findings of Central team

While the state government has been quick to announce measures for fresh restrictions, mandating either vaccination certificate or negative RT-PCR report for visiting shops, the health ministry on Tuesday said that the daily cases may go up in the state as the state has a high reproductive rate and low seroprevalence. If crowding takes place during the upcoming Onam, the situation will take a more concerning turn, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the state government has barred any gathering for Onam festivities.

According to data, submitted by the district authorities to the Central team, Kerala’s Patnamthitta has reported 14,974 cases of reinfections. Among these reinfection cases, 5,042 are those who have been vaccinated with both doses, as claimed by the district authorities. The central team said it is probing into the reason for these breakthrough cases. The Covid situation of the country has been stabilising in July-August, while Kerala is steadily contributing the maximum to India’s daily caseload.