The Omicron is on a community transmission stage in India. The Omicron variant is a dominant variant in most big cities where new cases have started coming up, INSACOG said in its latest bulletin.
Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium or INSACOG checks variations in COVID-19 across the country to help understand how it spreads and also to suggest what could be the best possible response by health authorities.
The centre’s Covid research body also said BA.2 lineage, an infectious sub-variant of Omicron, has been detected across India.
Till now, most Omicron cases so far have been asymptomatic or mild, hospitalisations and ICU cases have increased in the current wave. The threat level remains unchanged, INSACOG said in its January 10 bulletin.
“Omicron is now in community transmission in India and has become dominant in multiple metros, where new cases have been rising exponentially. BA.2 lineage is in a substantial fraction in India and S gene dropout based screening is thus likely to give high false negatives,” it said.
S-gene drop-out is a genetic variation like that of Omicron.
“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 has been detected in India,” the INSACOG said.
