Lok Sabha Question No. 2280 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-10
Subject: Third wave and Delta Variant
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Pawan Rajenimbalkar, Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2280 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2021

## THIRD WAVE AND DELTA VARIANT

## 2280. SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR: SHRI SANJAY JADHAV:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state-

- (a) whether the Government in anticipation of the third wave has made adequate arrangement for Remdesivir  injection  and  other  essential  medicines  including  issuing  guidelines  for  the treatment of children, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  check  the  laxity  on  the  part  of  people  in  following COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in the country;
- (c) the number of cases of Delta and Delta plus variant reported in the country, State/UT-wise;
- (d) whether the vaccination is not very effective against the new variant; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to check the new variant?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE (DR BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (e) Government of India is supporting States in their endeavor to manage COVID-19 since the  beginning  of  pandemic.  Requisite  technical,  logistic  and  financial  support  is  provided  to States/UTs to enhance preparedness and response capacities against COVID-19 and other public health emergencies.

A few of the interventions are as below:

-  Ministry of Health & Family Welfare continues to provide technical guidance for managing various aspects of COVID-19. So far more than 150 guidelines/advisories/SoPs/plans have been provided to States/UTs.

-  Adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviors (use of mask/face cover, physical distancing, respiratory and hand hygiene has been stressed in all SOP's/guidelines/advisories issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. This has also been reiterated by Ministry of Home Affairs in orders issued from time to time under Disaster Management Act, 2005.
-  The  issue  of  ensuring  adherence  to  COVID-19  appropriate  behaviors  has  been  reiterated through  formal  communications  as  well  as  during  video  conferences  with  all  States/UTs. States have been urged to further reinforce IEC activities COVID-19 appropriate behaviors through  inter-sectoral  coordination,  involvement  of  community  leaders,  opinion  makers, community-based organization, market/traders' associations etc.
-  Guidelines  on  Clinical  management  of  COVID-19  continues  to  be  updated  with  emerging scientific evidence. The treatment protocol for adults was last updated on 24 th May 2021 and has been widely circulated.
-  Guidelines  for  management  of  COVID-19  in  children  was  issued  on  18 th June  2021.  The guideline  covers  guidance  on  management  of  acute  presentation  of  COVID-19  as  well  as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) in children and adolescents found temporally related to COVID-19.
-  States are supported in terms of supply of logistics which includes PPE Kits, N-95 masks, ventilators, drugs etc.
-  Production  and  availability  of  Remdesivir  injection  and  other  essential  medicines  are monitored  jointly  by  Department  of  Pharmaceuticals,  National  Pharmaceutical  Pricing Authority (NPPA) & Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to ensure its availability.
-  Funding support has been provided to all States/UTs under Emergency COVID-19 Response and Preparedness packages for infrastructure strengthening including availability of medical oxygen  and  buffer  stock  of  identified  drugs  to  be  utilized  for  clinical  management  of COVID-19 patients.

The State/UT-wise details  of  number  of  cases  of  Delta  and  Delta  plus  variant  reported  in  the country,  is  at Annexure .  It  is  to  be  noted  that  delta  plus  is  a  sub  lineage  of  Delta  with  3 mutations in spike (K417N, V70F, and W258L) These are seen in AY1. AY2, AY3 and AY4.2 sublineage.

As per  currently  available  information,  there  is  no  evidence  to  point  that  vaccines  utilized  in India for COVID-19 vaccination are not effective against these new variants.

A number of mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus have been detected globally. Information on the same is shared by laboratories undertaking  genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 virus globally. In response to reports of such mutated variants 'Guidelines on international arrivals' are reviewed and revised from time to time. The last update was done on 30 th November 2021 which requires all international travelers arriving in India to upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test report  for  a  test  done  within  72  hrs  before  departure  to  India.  Also,  travelers  coming  from

countries designated as 'at-risk', are additionally required to undergo post-arrival testing twice (on arrival and on 8 th day) and also undergo mandatory home quarantine for 7 days' post arrival in India.

Union Ministry of Health & FW, MoHFW has also coordinated with and provided guidelines to states to follow precautionary measures against variant of concern, B.1.1.529 (Omicron variant). Some of these are:

-  Testing of samples of international travelers coming from "At Risk" countries on 1st Day and retesting on 8 th day & random sampling in other cases
-  Monitoring of International travelers in the community.
-  Contact tracing of positive individuals & follow up for 14 days
-  Sending all positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG Labs in a prompt manner
-  Continued monitoring of areas where cluster of positive cases have emerged
-  Strengthen the testing infrastructure
-  Ensuring  early  identification  of  cases  through  adequate  testing  across  the  States  while maintaining optimal RT-PCR ratio.
-  Ensure  preparedness  of  health  infrastructure  (availability  of  ICU,  Oxygen  supported  beds, ventilators, etc.)
-  Upgrading  health  infrastructure  sanctioned  by  Government  of  India  under  Emergency COVID-19 Response and Preparedness (Phase II) package (ECRP-II) including in rural areas and for pediatric cases
-  Commissioning all PSA plants, ensuring sufficient logistics, drugs etc.
-  Ensuring  creating  required  awareness  within  community  on  the  emerging  evidence  on Omicron
-  Ensure rapid vaccination coverage for all eligible beneficiaries
-  Ensuring adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour by the community

***

Annexure rd

## State/UT-wise details of number of cases of Delta and Delta plus variants (3 December 2021)

| State/UT           |   Delta variant |   B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.3 | AY1   | AY2   | AY3   | AY.3.1   | AY.4.2   |
|--------------------|-----------------|---------------------------|-------|-------|-------|----------|----------|
| Andaman Nicobar    |               0 |                         1 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Andhra Pradesh     |            1993 |                       475 | 2     | 1     | 9     |          |          |
| Assam              |            1079 |                        19 |       |       | 5     | 1        | 2        |
| Arunachal Pradesh  |              63 |                         6 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Bihar              |             220 |                        11 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Chandigarh         |             334 |                        16 | 4     |       |       |          |          |
| Chhattisgarh       |             936 |                        75 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Dadra Nagar Haveli |              20 |                         0 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Delhi              |            2739 |                       347 | 3     |       | 1     |          |          |
| Goa                |             308 |                        79 | 2     |       | 1     |          |          |
| Gujarat            |             686 |                       202 | 2     |       |       |          | 10       |
| Haryana            |             485 |                       132 | 3     |       |       |          |          |
| Himachal Pradesh   |            1027 |                         6 | 1     |       | 1     |          |          |
| Jammu &Kashmir     |            1141 |                        17 | 1     |       |       |          |          |
| Jharkhand          |             353 |                        84 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Karnataka          |            1955 |                       279 | 2     | 3     |       |          |          |
| Kerala             |             239 |                         3 | 0     | 0     | 1     |          |          |
| Ladakh             |             208 |                         3 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Lakshadweep        |              68 |                         2 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Madhya Pradesh     |             599 |                        75 | 12    |       |       |          |          |
| Maharashtra        |            2589 |                      2160 | 9     | 1     |       |          | 1        |
| Manipur            |            1299 |                         6 | 6     |       | 1     |          |          |
| Meghalaya          |             134 |                        20 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Mizoram            |            1251 |                         0 | 28    |       |       |          |          |
| Nagaland           |             191 |                         6 |       |       | 1     |          |          |
| Odisha             |            1949 |                        42 | 1     |       |       |          |          |
| Puducherry         |             515 |                       110 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Punjab             |            1071 |                        28 | 2     |       |       |          |          |
| Rajasthan          |             658 |                        12 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Sikkim             |             348 |                         6 |       |       |       |          |          |
| Tamil Nadu         |            1043 |                       221 | 5     |       |       |          | 4        |
| Telangana          |            1840 |                       315 | 4     |       | 12    |          | 1        |

| Tripura       |   198 |   15 |    |    |    |    |    |
|---------------|-------|------|----|----|----|----|----|
| Uttar Pradesh |   717 |   72 |  2 |    |    |    |    |
| Uttarakhand   |   669 |   67 |  4 |    | 1  |    |    |
| West Bengal   |  2918 |  664 |  1 |    | 3  |    |    |
| Total         | 31843 | 5576 | 94 | 5  | 36 | 1  | 18 |