Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) in its latest bulletin said that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is in the community transmission stage in the country and has become dominant in several metros where new cases have been spiking exponentially.
INSACOG is the centre’s Covid research body that checks variations in coronavirus across the nation to help understand how it spreads and evolves, and to suggest the best possible public health response.
The body also said that BA.2 lineage, an infectious sub-variant of Omicron, has also been detected in a considerable fraction in India.
In its January 10 bulletin that was released on Sunday, INSACOG said that while most Omicron cases so far have been asymptomatic or mild, hospitalisations and ICU cases have increased in the current wave and the threat level remains unchanged.
“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.
“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 further said.
The INSACOG said that the further spread of Omicron in India is now expected to be through internal transmission, and not foreign travellers. “A revised sampling and sequencing strategy of INSACOG is being worked out to address genomic surveillance objectives in the wake of dynamic changing scenario of virus infection,” the INSACOG said.
