The report said that more than 1,86,000 new cases have been reported in 96 countries and more than 2,800 deaths have been reported in 35 countries. A WHO report said that since the beginning of the pandemic till July 21, more than 77.5 crore cases have been confirmed worldwide and more than 70 lakh patients have died. The highest number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions due to Covid have been reported from countries in the Americas and the European region.
As far as the South-East Asia region is concerned, the infection burden is highest in Thailand (6,704 new cases and 35 deaths). It is followed by India (908 new cases and two deaths) and Bangladesh (372 new cases and one death). The report said that JN1 has seen the highest number of cases globally. Such cases have been reported in 135 countries. SARS CoV-2 variants KP.3.1.1 and LB.1, which are descendants of JN.1, are increasing cases globally.
Which state is on the rise?
Meanwhile, according to the Union Health Ministry's Covid dashboard, several states in India are witnessing a rise in Covid cases. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and West Bengal are witnessing a positive rate of more than five per cent. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the highly infectious KP.1 and KP.2 strains have evolved from the JN.1 Omicron variant. This is also responsible for the rising cases of Covid in India.
What did the Health Minister say in Parliament?
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda had informed Parliament earlier this month that there has been no increase in hospitalisations or severity of the disease so far. Nadda said that as of August 5, 824 cases of the KP mutant strain of Covid were reported. Maharashtra has the highest number of cases at 417, followed by West Bengal at 157 and Uttarakhand at 64.