The warning about the new variant in early March was issued by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genetics Consortium, or INSACOG. It was conveyed to a top official who reports directly to the prime minister, according to one of the scientists, the director of a research centre in northern India who spoke on condition of anonymity. Reuters could not determine whether the INSACOG findings were passed on to Modi himself.
The draft statement said that the mutations, called E484Q and L452R, were of “high concern". It said “there is data of E484Q mutant viruses escaping highly neutralising antibodies in cultures, and there is data that L452R mutation was responsible for both increased transmissibility and immune escape".
Asked why the government did not respond more forcefully to the findings, for example by restricting large gatherings, Shahid Jameel, chair of the scientific advisory group of INSACOG, said he was concerned that authorities were not paying enough attention to the evidence as they set policy. The government took no steps to prevent gatherings that might hasten the spread of the new variant, as new infections quadrupled by Apr 1 from a month earlier.
To be sure, some scientists say the surge was much larger than expected and the setback cannot be pinned on political leadership alone."There is no point blaming the government," Saumitra Das, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, which is part of INSACOG, told Reuters.INSACOG reports to the National Centre for Disease Control in New Delhi.
Singh said some government officials in the meeting worried that mid-sized towns could see law and order problems as essential medical supplies like oxygen ran out, a scenario that has already begun to play out in parts of India. Two days after Singh’s Apr 18 warning to government officials, Modi addressed the nation on Apr 20, arguing against lockdowns. He said a lockdown should be the last resort in fighting the virus. India’s two-month-long national lockdown a year ago put millions out of work and devastated the economy.
The UK variant, called B.1.1.7, was also detected in India by January, including in the northern state of Punjab, a major epicentre for the farmers’ protests, Anurag Agrawal, a senior INSACOG scientist, told Reuters. By Apr 7, more than two weeks after Punjab's announcement on the UK variant, cases of coronavirus began rising sharply in Delhi. Within days, hospital beds, critical care facilities, and medical oxygen began running out in the city. At some hospitals, patients died gasping for air before they could be treated. The city's crematoriums overflowed with dead bodies.
When you have too much god power thinking you would be protected. Dictator Modi should wake up before India total collapse
Obstinate leader poorleadership india
Y does modi administration follow trump style......not following the sciences......surely voted out.
politicians only have their self interest as priority and not the welfare of the people 😔
Obviously it's politics for Modi, not the people, stupid
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