New variant: The dawn of the third wave
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal warned the Central Government of a new coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 allegedly found in Singapore and said it may hit off the third wave which might affect children this time.
Although the B.1.617 variant was first found in India which later spread to many countries including the United Kingdom and Singapore.
In response to the tweet made by CM Arvind Kejriwal, Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan on 19th May 2021 slammed Delhi CM saying “politicians should stick to facts! There is no Singapore variant.”
India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar on clarifying the matter tweeted saying the Delhi CM “does not speak for India”. He added “Singapore and India have been solid partners in the fight against covid-19. Appreciate Singapore’s role as a logistical hub and oxygen supplier. Their gesture of deploying military aircraft to help us speak of our exceptional relationship”
However, Mr. Kejriwal warned the Central government about the adverse effects of this new variant. He said “The new form of Corona that came to Singapore is said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may come as a third wave. My appeal to the central government: 1. Air services with Singapore to be canceled with immediate effect. 2. Vaccine options should be worked out for children too.”
Over one-fifth of Singapore’s population has been vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. It now plans to inoculate people below 45 years of age from the second half of May. The country has also approved the Pfizer-BioNTech for children above the age of 12.
The B.1.617 variant, which is widely considered to be one of the primary reasons behind the huge surge in the number of infections across India during the second wave of the pandemic, has been termed as a global variant of concern by WHO. It has already spread to more than 40 countries and several countries have put travel restrictions for passengers coming from India as a result of the surge in cases here.
Though the variant, which has two mutations — E484Q and L452R — in its spike protein, is believed to be driving the Covid surge in India, there is still no definitive evidence to conclude if it is deadlier or is causing a more severe form of infection.
Singapore reported 38 news cases of Covid infection on 16th May 2021, the highest number in more than a year. As a result, it will shut primary schools and secondary level schools and colleges from 19th to 28th of May.
Could it be that the Delhi CM was just conveying his fear for this new variant and how it would affect the children of this country? Was he just trying to warn the incompetent government? Although these questions may never be answered, we as citizens of this country have to buckle up and do our bit to fight this pandemic.
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News source: The Indian Express
Update by Ayush Ray