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Indian Health Officials Dismiss Covid Worries Despite Alarming Rise in Cases in China

© AP Photo / Anupam NathA health worker displays Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine as she prepares to administer the same at a government school in Gauhati, India, Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.
A health worker displays Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine as she prepares to administer the same at a government school in Gauhati, India, Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.  - Sputnik India, 1920, 21.12.2022
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As of 21 December, India has reported 44.7 million COVID cases and 530,677 deaths. In the past 24 hours alone, the country has reported 131 fresh cases and two fatalities.
As cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise in neighboring China, India's Health Minister Mansukh Malviya on Wednesday called an urgent review meeting with top officials on the subject.
However, the chairman of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Dr NK Arora assured the Indian citizens that there was no need to panic because India's health system is "vigilant".
Arora proceeded to remind Indians of key factors to keep in mind, according to Indian media:
India is "extensively immunized", especially the adult population;
Around 90 percent of the population have also been affected by natural cold infection, "so basically, the majority have been immunized with hybrid immunity".
On Tuesday, India's Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to all states and union territories that "all states are requested to ensure that, as far as possible, samples of all positive cases are sent every day to the designated Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) that are mapped to the states and UTs."
The center was also expected to revive old COVID-19 rules to block incoming cases at international and domestic airports at the meeting on Wednesday. This step is especially likely - given the surging number of foreigners visiting India for the forthcoming New Year celebrations.
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