A total of 83 cases of Delta disease plus a variant of coronavirus have been reported in India as of August 4, with Maharashtra recording 33 of these, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 cases and Tamil Nadu 10, Lok Sabha said on Friday, August 6.
Responding to a question about whether private laboratories are allowed to carry out coronavirus genome sequencing, Bharati Health Minister Pravin Pawar said in a written response that the inclusion of private laboratories in INSACOG India (SARSCoV2 Genomics Consortium) is under investigation. "Very few labs have submitted a willingness to be part of INSACOG. Their inclusion will be decided on the basis of a competency assessment regarding their human resources and infrastructure," she said. said in his response.
The analysis of genomic data is an ongoing and ongoing process. Periodic updates are shared with experts and the State and are also regularly made available in the public domain via the INSACOG media bulletin.
The minister said: Steps are being taken to verify the spread of the Delta variant, Pawar said to track variants of the SARSCoV2 virus, the initial genome sequencing was done through the National Institute of Virology in Pune. Subsequently, the Union government established the Indian SARSCoV2 Genome Consortium (INSACOG) in December 2020 as a consortium of 10 laboratories from the Ministry of Health, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the Scientific and Industrial Research Council (CSIR). INSACOG's laboratory network has since grown to 28, Pawar said.
While monitoring the prevalence of variants through a network of laboratories, following expert advice, it is noted that the public health measures for the management of the pandemic in the field and the treatment protocol remain the same and the 5-pronged test track treats vaccinate and COVID strategy Appropriate behaviour is to be followed in the field, she said.