Editor's Pick: Drills test India’s COVID-19 preparedness

India began a two-day COVID-19 preparedness drill on Monday as cases in the country continue to surge. According to a senior official, the exercise is aimed at reviewing and ensuring proper arrangements for testing and treatment of patients. The drill was conducted in hospitals across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Mumbai. Active coronavirus cases in India rose to 37,093, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on April 11. The death toll increased to 5,31,000 with 21 deaths. The active cases now comprise 0.08% of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.73%, the ministry said. The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in India could be attributed to the newly emerged recombinant coronavirus variant XBB.1.16. India has now reported mutation in this variant and detection of its offshoot subtype — XBB.1.16.1. XBB is an Omicron sub-lineage and is currently the most prevalent among the Omicron variants. At least 400 new sub-variants of Omicron have been identified in India in the last 15 months, of which 90% variants are XBB. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the drill in Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. During the meeting, he said hospitals should ensure quality clinical practices, measures for infection control, hospital management, sanitation processes and patient-centric provisions. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recommended COVID-19 vaccination and booster dose. “Many people lowered their guard against coronavirus, and the low rate of testing could be the driving force behind the surge,’’ the IMA said. In a press release, the body also said that there is no role for antibiotics and no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose/throat with saline/antiseptic has protected people from coronavirus. 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 Right lessons: on the lack of lack of professionalism in the NCERT’s deletions in textbooks Burning bright: on the latest quadrennial census of India’s wild tiger population The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz C.R. Rao won the Nobel Prize equivalent in his field at the age of 102. He is known for his work in which field? Statistics Mathematics Theoretical Science Architecture To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 11 April 2023 [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]( Drills test India’s COVID-19 preparedness India began a two-day[COVID-19 preparedness drill]( on Monday as cases in the country continue to surge. According to a senior official, the exercise is aimed at reviewing and ensuring proper arrangements for testing and treatment of patients. The drill was conducted in hospitals across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Mumbai. [Active coronavirus cases in India]( rose to 37,093, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on April 11. The death toll increased to 5,31,000 with 21 deaths. The active cases now comprise 0.08% of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.73%, the ministry said. The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in India could be attributed to the newly emerged recombinant coronavirus variant XBB.1.16. India has now reported mutation in this variant and detection of its offshoot subtype — XBB.1.16.1. XBB is an Omicron sub-lineage and is currently the most prevalent among the Omicron variants. At least 400 new sub-variants of Omicron have been identified in India in the last 15 months, of which 90% variants are XBB. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the drill in Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. During the meeting, he said hospitals should ensure quality clinical practices, measures for infection control, hospital management, sanitation processes and patient-centric provisions. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recommended COVID-19 vaccination and booster dose. “Many people lowered their guard against coronavirus, and the low rate of testing could be the driving force behind the surge,’’ the IMA said. In a press release, the body also said that there is no role for antibiotics and no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose/throat with saline/antiseptic has protected people from coronavirus. 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 [Arrow][Right lessons: on the lack of lack of professionalism in the NCERT’s deletions in textbooks Â]( [Arrow][Burning bright: on the latest quadrennial census of India’s wild tiger populationÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz C.R. Rao won the Nobel Prize equivalent in his field at the age of 102. 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