Editor's Pick: A rise in COVID-19 cases expected through January

A top official closely working with coronavirus management in the country told The Hindu that India can expect a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases through January. However, this is unlikely to lead to a surge in hospital admissions or even a “wave”. “January can be crucial. We have seen a rise in the U.S., Pacific Island countries and Japan. Given past trends, this can mean a rise in India over the next 30 days,” the official stated on the condition of anonymity. The test positivity rate (positive cases per test) presently stands at 0.23%, although this can be attributed to limited testing and does not on its own correlate to the existing number of cases. The four BF.7 cases were detected in India as far back as July, though it has not translated to a measurable rise in severity. Thirty-eight of the 6,000 international fliers screened in the past week tested positive. However, no case of the BF.7 variant, responsible for the surge in China, was confirmed. The official informed that the government is not yet inclined to recommend measures such as compulsory testing, but will reinforce its campaign to test 2% of the passengers arriving on international flights, step up genomic surveillance and bolster hospital facilities. The official stated, “No mathematical modelling can reliability estimate what can happen. However, given that we have a large portion of people with hybrid immunity (protection from vaccination and exposure to variants such as Delta and Omicron), we don’t expect a noticeable rise in severity. Results from the drill held yesterday in several states show we are well prepared.” As per the drill conducted on Tuesday in nearly 20,000 hospitals including 5,000 private ones, a total of 6.39 lakh beds are available for COVID-19 patients. As for human resource, there are 1.7 lakh doctors, 3.2 lakh nurses, 1.6 lakh paramedics and 15,000 AYUSH practitioners trained in COVID-care management. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu’s Editorials Turning tide: On India’s goods exports Laboured wages: On MGNREGS payments to States The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz What was the most searched term globally on Google in 2022? Ukraine Queen Elizabeth India vs England Wordle To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 29 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( A rise in COVID-19 cases expected through January A top official closely working with coronavirus management in the country told The Hindu that India can expect a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases through January. However, this is unlikely to lead to a surge in hospital admissions or even a “wave”. “January can be crucial. We have seen a rise in the U.S., Pacific Island countries and Japan. Given past trends, this can mean a rise in India over the next 30 days,” the official stated on the condition of anonymity. The test positivity rate (positive cases per test) presently stands at 0.23%, although this can be attributed to limited testing and does not on its own correlate to the existing number of cases. The four BF.7 cases were detected in India as far back as July, though it has not translated to a measurable rise in severity. Thirty-eight of the 6,000 international fliers screened in the past week tested positive. However, no case of the BF.7 variant, responsible for the surge in China, was confirmed. The official informed that the government is not yet inclined to recommend measures such as compulsory testing, but will reinforce its campaign to test 2% of the passengers arriving on international flights, step up genomic surveillance and bolster hospital facilities. The official stated, “No mathematical modelling can reliability estimate what can happen. However, given that we have a large portion of people with hybrid immunity (protection from vaccination and exposure to variants such as Delta and Omicron), we don’t expect a noticeable rise in severity. Results from the drill held yesterday in several states show we are well prepared.” As per the drill conducted on Tuesday in nearly 20,000 hospitals including 5,000 private ones, a total of 6.39 lakh beds are available for COVID-19 patients. As for human resource, there are 1.7 lakh doctors, 3.2 lakh nurses, 1.6 lakh paramedics and 15,000 AYUSH practitioners trained in COVID-care management. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. 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