New wave of Covid-19 in China: India stands ready
New wave of Covid-19 in China: India stands ready
Published on:
Faced with the outbreak of Covid-19 in China, India is preparing for a return of the virus. The government has reintroduced mandatory testing for flights arriving from China and is pushing states to prepare their hospitals for the worst. Epidemiologists, however, want to be reassuring in the face of this new wave.
With our correspondent in Bangalore, Como Bastin
With less than 200 cases per day, India seems almost free of Covid-19, although the number of tests has dropped drastically. But the dazzling and deadly wave of the Delta variant in 2021 remains in everyone's mind.
No way for the government to be accused of negligence again. The Ministry of Health has asked all federal states to provide their hospitals with beds and oxygen supplies. Simulations of emergency situations are carried out, while the genome centers prepare to identify the new variants.
Do not panic
According to mathematician and epidemiologist Manindra Agrawal, who developed a predictive model of Covid-19 for the Kanpur Institute of Technology, however, there is no need to panic. " Our predictive models show that 92% of Indians have developed immunity that protects against the virus. It is difficult to compare India with China, which has been practicing a zero Covid policy for three years. The virus has not circulated, and as a bonus, the Chinese vaccine is questionable. The Indian government is mainly acting to avoid criticism "He says.
While the somewhat racist term " chinese virus is making a comeback, some experts denounce a political recovery of health concerns. The opposition is thus accused of holding rallies, which did not bother the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) in power when the Indian variant, renamed the Delta variant, exploded in the country.
► To listen also: India: a record of vaccinations for the birthday of the Prime Minister
This article appeared first on https://www.rfi.fr/fr/asie-pacifique/20221228-nouvelle-vague-de-covid-19-en-chine-l-inde-se-tient-pr%C3%AAte