India need not Ban International Flights or Impose Lockdowns

Corona is back and seeking entry from the backdoor. It has unofficially started to haunt the world again. But things are under control everywhere except china and the world is ready to tackle the next attack of the virus.

In view of the cases being rising in some countries, experts in India believe that under India’s present covid scenario, there is no need to restrict international flights including flights to India from USA or impose lockdowns. Experts do however are of the view that there is a need for strengthened surveillance and vigilance on the government’s part.

They further added that India has got the advantage of hybrid immunity so fresh outbreaks of severe covid cases and hospitalization are unlikely scenarios. Hybrid immunity means natural immunity due to infection reinforced by vaccination.

Dr. Randeep Guleria, former AIIMS director told PTI that India is currently in a comfortable situation as there is no increase in Covid caseload in the country. And given the circumstances, there is no need to restrict international flights or impose a lockdown.

Past experiences have also shown restricting flights is not the best strategy to contain the virus. Moreover, Data also suggest that the Omicron sub variant BF7, which is driving surge in china, has already been found in India.

Asked about a query about the lockdown, Dr. Guleria said that there is no need for it in the coming days as the fresh outbreak of severe cases and hospitalization is an unlikely scenario. The Indian population has got hybrid immunity because of very good vaccination coverage and natural infection. The overall current situation and good degree of hybrid immunity in the population don’t mandate any need for lockdowns, he further added.

Dr. Neeraj Gupta of Safdarganj hospital said that India is in need of exercising caution given the surge of covid 19 cases in china but a lockdown-like situation has yet not been conceived for the near future given the current Indian scenario.

The pandemic is still not over as the world scenario shows so India need not slack. Covid appropriate behavior should be reinforced as complacency has crept in because of the low number of covid positive cases. He further added that a person becomes more secure after hybrid immunity against future infections with mortality benefits.

The citizenry is taking voluntary actions like prevention and early diagnoses that has put India at an advantageous position. DR. Neeraj also opined that China has become more vulnerable now possibly because of low natural immunity. The lower vaccine efficiency in china has a role to play in such a catastrophic situation. Poor vaccination strategy by china where young and healthy individuals were prioritized before older and vulnerable adults is also the culprit here. China’s population is less immune and more vulnerable due to the country’s strict lockdown policies.

Dr. Chandarkant, an epidemiologist said that the experience of last three years taught that while travel restrictions delayed the transmission of the virus, it has no role to play anymore. Moreover, the restrictions cannot stop the transmission and in course of time a new variant is detected, it already reaches to different parts of the world.

The world saw this a year ago with the omicron variant where travel bans played no role. India has more than 250 sub-variants of omicron already. The most rational approach still is random sampling with no strict mandates and only minimal inconvenience to the passengers. The purpose of the whole exercise would be to keep track of emerging covid sub variants.

Dr. NK Arora, the chairperson national technical advisory group of immunization said the current covid situation is under control in India and there ain’t any reason to panic. He however focused that people need to follow the covid appropriate behavior and those eligible should take the precautionary dose.

There is a spurt in cases in Japan, the united states, South Korea, Brazil, France, and China as a result India has stepped up surveillance and genome sequencing of covid positive samples.

Chinese cities have been hit by the most transmissible BF7 strain which is the main variant spreading in Beijing and is contributing to a wider surge of infections in China.

Omicron variant BA5 has a sub-lineage which is called BF7 and has the strongest infection ability as it is highly transmissible. The variant has a shorter incubation period and can cause reinfection at an alarming rate. The variant can even infect those duly vaccinated. Visit Flyopedia.ca for flight offers from Canada to India.

Also, 90 percent of the eligible persons have taken the second dose while the figure for first-dose recipients is as high as 97 percent.

Meanwhile, the figure for the precautionary dose takers is less at only 27 percent of the eligible population.