COVID situation in India on Friday and updates

New Delhi: Scientists on Friday allayed fears about the BF.7 variant of coronavirus which is causing a surge in cases some parts of the world. Here are the developments on the Covid front: 

*Bharat Biotech's intranasal Covid vaccine has been approved by the government as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above, and is likely to be introduced on the Co-WIN platform.

*India logged 163 new coronavirus infections, while active cases declined to 3,380.

*Renowned virologist Gangandeep Kang said India has reported a few cases of Omicron sub-variants XBB and BF.7, but they have not driven an upsurge, and she does not expect a spike in Covid cases.

*Allaying fears about BF.7 variant of coronavirus, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society's director Rakesh Mishra said it is a sub-variant of Omicron strain and India need not worry too much about its severity on the population.

*With random coronavirus testing of international arriving passengers set to start from Saturday, the government said airlines' crew members will have to bring such identified passengers to the testing facility at the airport.

*Using the antiviral drug molnupiranir does not decrease deaths or hospital admissions among COVID-19 patients who are vaccinated and at higher risk of mortality, says study published in The Lancet journal.

*States and Union territories will undertake a mock drill across all health facilities on Tuesday to ensure operational readiness of the Covid-dedicated facilities, with a specific focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics and human resources 

*Haryana issued guidelines directing all civil surgeons in the state to ensure compliance of various measures across all health facilities.

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