COVID-19: Omicron variant has reached community transmission level in India, says INSACOG

The new Covid variant Omicron has reached in community transmission level in India, said Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) on Sunday.

"Omicron is now in community transmission stage in India and has become dominant in multiple metros, where new cases have been rising exponentially", said INSACOG in its recent bulletin published on Sunday.

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The INSACOG reports genomic surveillance of SARS CoV-2 across the country through sequencing of samples from Sentinel sites and also detailed State wise district analysis for some states.

The Genomics research organization has also said that an infectious sub-variant of Omicron BA.2 lineage has been detected in a considerable fraction in India.

"BA.2 lineage is a substantial fraction in India and S-gene dropout based screening is thus likely to give high false negatives. Tests suitable for PCR based screening applicable to all Omicron lineages have been approved for use", said the genomics consortium in its bulletin.

The INSACOG has said that while most Omicron cases so far have been asymptomatic or mild, hospitalizations and ICU cases have been increasing in the current wave. The threat level remains unchanged.

"The recently reported B.1.640.2 lineage is being monitored. There is no evidence of rapid spread and while it has features of immune escape, it is currently not a variant of concern. So far, no case detected in India", the bulletin reads further.

The Covid research body has said that at global level, the majority of severe cases and deaths have been in unvaccinated subjects, with high protection associated with vaccination or previous infection.