updated: Apr 07 2021, 15:13 ist
By Bibhudatta Pradhan and Dhwani Pandya
India’s failure to quickly examine Covid-19 samples for new variants risks hurting its battle against a record surge of infections, with scientists warning the delays could damage everything from vaccine efficacy to effective hospital treatments.
The South Asian nation has tested less than 1% of its positive samples, according to government data, compared to the UK which has sequenced 8% of infections, and 33% in the last week, the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium said. The US last month reported it was sequencing about 4% of its 400,000 weekly new cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted.
People walk or stand at a crowded beach in Mumbai.
NEW DELHI: India’s failure to quickly examine Covid-19 samples for new variants risks hurting its battle against a record surge of infections, with scientists warning the delays could damage everything from vaccine efficacy to effective hospital treatments.
India has tested less than 1% of its positive samples, according to government data, compared to the UK which has sequenced 8% of infections, and 33% in the last week, the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium said. The US last month reported it was sequencing about 4% of its 400,000 weekly new cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted.
With poor data on variants, India s Covid surge remains a mystery business-standard.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from business-standard.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
HAPPY DAYS TO RETURN - WITHOUT FEAR
By Andrew Atkinson Exclusive
Spain coach tour operators are hoping the government will mirror the UK coach operating sector who have urged the government to allow full capacity on coaches when it issues its review of social distancing measures in June.
Speaking exclusively to The Leader the proprietor of David’s Coach trips said: “This dreadful virus has swept the world, costing the lives of so many people and so much grief and distress to many more friends and families of the victims. My heart goes out to everybody affected.
“How I admire the resilience of the general public and the brilliant skills of our scientific community that have now given us hope.
Kent Covid variant spreading in the US could trigger whole new pandemic dailystar.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailystar.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.