COVID-19 Update: Pandemic Is Not Yet Over, India Reports 10 Deaths

New sub-variants of Omicron causing COVID-19 resurgence in Singapore and New Zealand. Do not let your guards down.

When you go out for Diwali shopping, make sure you wear a face mask when because COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. Many health experts have also raised concern over the emergence of new sub-variants of Omicron, which are spreading rapidly in some countries.

Babatunde Olowokure, director of Health Security and Emergencies for WHO in the Western Pacific, has also expressed fear that new sub-variants of COVID-19 may lead to resurgence of new cases and overwhelm health systems. He pointed out Singapore and New Zealand are already experiencing a COVID-19 resurgence. While the Omicron XBB subvariant is driving the surge in Singapore, the BA.5 variant is dominant in New Zealand.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, infectious disease epidemiologist and the COVID-19 Technical Lead at World Health Organization (WHO), recently said that more than 300 sublineages of Omicron are circulating globally right now and most (approx. 76%) are BA.5 sublineages.

Update on #Omicron, including what we know about XBB & BQ.1.1 ⬇️Bottom line: >300 sublineages of Omicron are circulating globally right now and most (~76%) are BA.5 sublineages. We @WHO with our TAG-VE need to assess all variants & currently this is very difficult. 🧵 1/4 pic.twitter.com/t1y9H5Z8sC Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) October 19, 2022

India recorded 2,119 new Covid-19 infections and 10 deaths related to the disease on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry. The country's daily positivity rate and weekly positivity rate are recorded at 1.13 per cent and 0.97 per cent respectively. Currently, there are 25,037 active cases in the country.

Continue to take safety precautions such as

WHO is urging people to continue to "DoItAll" to protect themselves from COVID-19. Make sure you

• Avoid crowded places, whenever possible
• Wear a mask in crowed places, ensuring that it covers your mouth, nose and chin properly
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or sanitize regularly
• Sneeze or cough into the elbow
• Maintain safe distance from others
• Get COVID-19 vaccines as per recommended schedule