Early signs of a Covid-19 surge: What next?

After what seems to be a fairly quiescent period, India is witnessing a perceptible surge in new cases of Covid19, most of these from Kerala and Maharashtra. The June 13 release notified 8084 new cases of Covid-19 that were recorded in the last 24 hours. The cumulative active caseload is currently 47,995. While this may not seem very alarming, the detection of BA.4 and BA.5 and some sub-variants of BA.2 from states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu should ring a bell of caution. The global evidence so far is that these are neither associated with new symptoms nor more severe disease. As the majority of mutations are similar to those found in other Omicron lineages, this is not unexpected; it requires close clinical and epidemiological monitoring, though. The markers to be watched out for are complications, hospitalisation and deaths.

The surge is most likely on account of the emergence of new sub-variants. Both BA.4 and BA.5 were first detected in South Africa, a country that performs genetic sequencing on a very large scale. BA.4 was first picked up in Limpopo, the northernmost province and relatively sparsely populated; many of the other variants were earlier detected in the highly urbanised parts of the country, though. BA.5 was first detected on February 25, 2022, in KwaZulu-Natal in northeastern South Africa. Both these have since spread to all South African provinces, signifying their potential for rapid spread, particularly in the backdrop of the recent widespread Omicron infection in the country.

After all, it is not becoming of a nation that has aspirations of being a global power to be seen so crassly hurting the religious sentiments of another community, either within its own boundaries or beyond. While the BJP's polarising agenda may have worked in its electoral favour in the domestic arena, it can have major international ramifications in a hyper-connected world.

The UDD order sets aside Rs 484.88 crore for primary drains and Rs 1,005.12 crore for secondary drains.

The grant will focus the strengthening work in flood-prone areas like HRBR Layout, Veerannapalya, Nayandahalli Junction Near Rachenahalli Lake, LBS Nagar in Yelahanka, Someshwara Layout in Arekere, Anugraha Layout, BEML 5th Stage, Pai Layout, and Vad...

The BBMP will roughly spend Rs 8.7 crore per km of remodelling work.