Covid News Live Updates: India reports 16,678 new cases, 26 deaths; BA.2.75 variant may be able to spread rapidly, say scientists
July 11, 2022 10:36:56 am
Coronavirus News Live Updates: With 16,678 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,36,39,329, while the active cases increased to 1,30,713, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll climbed to 5,25,454 with 26 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Meanwhile, the quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the United States. Scientists say the variant – called BA.2.75 – may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection. “It’s still really early on for us to draw too many conclusions,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “But it does look like, especially in India, the rates of transmission are showing kind of that exponential increase.”
Multiple Chinese cities are adopting fresh Covid-19 curbs, from business halts to lockdowns, to rein in new infections, with the commercial hub of Shanghai bracing for another mass testing campaign after detecting the BA.5 Omicron subvariant. As China sticks to its “dynamic zero-Covid” policy of promptly stamping out all outbreaks, the strict curbs by local governments come despite low caseloads, at a time when much of the world co-exists with the virus.
