Omicron sub-lineage continues to be predominant variant, 349 samples of XBB1.16 detected
Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 Mar, 2023 02:16 PM
New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Amid the new Covid surge in the country, the Omicron variant and it's sub-lineage continue to be the predominant variant in the country.
According to INSACOG data, a total of 349 samples of Omicron sub-variant XBB1.16 have been detected in genome sequencing.
Total 349 samples of this variant have been detected in the country in last three months, the data showed.
XBB 1.16 was first found in January. However, while only two samples were found then, the number rose to 138 in February, and in March till date total 204 samples of this variant have been found through genome sequencing.
The highest number of cases of this variant have been found in Maharashtra at 105, followed by Telangana 93, Karnataka 57 and Gujarat 54 as per the data.
The other predominant Omicron variant in the country is XBB.1.5 presently. Total 196 samples of this variant have been found in last three months. Total samples of this variant were 46 in January, which rose to 103 in February and in March, it came down to 47 in genome sequencing.
However, the ministry has said that there is no evidence of increase in the ratio of hospitalisation or mortality due to this variant in the country.
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On November 11, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to file an affidavit to inform it about the number of medical students who were pursuing their studies in Ukraine who have been accommodated in other countries. On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath scheduled the petition filed by Archita and others for further hearing on November 29.
Reacting to a submission made to the UT Administrator by the Haryana Assembly Speaker, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader in a letter to the Administrator said Chandigarh was an inalienable part of Punjab and the Haryana government could not apply for a land swap without taking the consent of the parent state.
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