Covid surge: Tip of the iceberg, warns WHO

Amid WHO warning, Israel has claimed that a new likely variant has infected some people in the country. The country's health minister said on Wednesday that two passengers, who had arrived in Israel, were found infected with the new Covid variant. According to reports, the likely new strain is a combination of two sub-variants of the Omicron version of the Covid-19 virus -- dubbed BA.1 and BA.2. Low fever, muscle aches and headaches are among other mild symptoms of the new Covid variant. The illness caused due to this variant does not require special treatment, a news report quoted the ministry as saying. The Israel health ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said the new variant could have originated in Israel.

Meanwhile, the WHO said the spike in Asia, and the United States - where cases seem to be doubling - is driven partly by the emergence of new variants - sub-lineages of Omicron - and lifting of health measures. These spikes could also be due to 'a huge amount of misinformation' about vaccines in some nations, officials said. New infections jumped eight per cent globally compared to the previous week, with 11 million new cases (and over 43,000 deaths) reported March 7 to 13. The biggest jump was in the western Pacific, which includes China and South Korea. Cases shot up by 25 per cent and deaths by 27 per cent, the WHO said.The situation seems to be stabilising.WHO has warned nations to remain vigilant in the face of a renewed global surge in Covid cases. The health body said the recent increase in Asian countries - China, Hong Kong, and South Korea, which reported over 600,000 Wednesday - could be 'the tip of the iceberg', particularly since many nations had dropped testing rates.

Africa also saw a 12% rise in new cases and 14% rise in deaths, and Europe a 2% rise in cases but no jump in deaths. Other regions reported declining cases, including the eastern Mediterranean region, although this area saw a 38% rise in deaths linked to a previous spike in infections. A number of experts have raised concerns that Europe faces another coronavirus wave, with case rising since the beginning of March in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, a high-level meeting was called on Wednesday by Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to track India's preparedness and level of alertness as several Asian countries report another surge in Covid cases. India has just started reviving itself from the Omicron-led third wave of the pandemic. The Centre recently announced plans to resume international flights from March 27 after a gap of two years.