Covid crisis: Modi govt ignores warning of scientists: Reuters

In early March, a forum of scientific advisors constituted by the government warned Indian officials of the spread of a new and more contagious variant in the country as per the Reuters.

Four scientists said that despite the warning, the central government did not impose large scale restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Millions of people, without wearing masks, participated in religious events and political rallies, which were done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition leaders.

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Meanwhile, thousands of farmers continued their demonstrations on the borders of Delhi regarding Prime Minister Modi's agricultural changes.

The second most populous country in the world is now struggling with the second round of infection, which is more serious than the first round of last year. For the second wave, some scientists consider the new variants responsible and others tell the first found variants in Britain behind it.

This surge in transition is the biggest crisis for Narendra Modi since 2014 when he came to power. It has to be seen how his way of handling the transition affects him and his party politically.

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The next general elections are to be held in 2024. Voting for local elections has already been completed before a record spurt in recent cases.

In early March, the Indian SARS-Cove-2 Genetics Consortium or INSACOG had issued a warning about the new variant.

A scientist and director of a research center in northern India, on the condition of anonymity, said that this warning was passed on to a top official who reports directly to the Prime Minister.

Reuters could not confirm whether the finding of INSACOG had been passed on to Prime Minister Modi himself. Reuters contacted the Prime Minister's Office in this regard, from where he received no reply.

This forum of scientific advisors was set up by the government in late December. The aim of which was to detect those genomic variants of corona virus, which could be a threat to public health. This forum brought together 10 national labs which are capable of studying variants of the virus.

Ajay Parida, a member of the forum and director of the government-run Institute of Biology, told Reuters, INSACOG researchers had detected B.1.617 in February itself, which is being called the Indian variant of the virus.

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The director of the Research Center for Northern India told Reuters, the forum had shared its findings with the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) of the Ministry of Health before March 10, and warned that the infection could intensify in parts of the country is.

According to this person, after this the Findings were sent to the Indian Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health has not responded to the request for comment.

Around the same date, the forum drafted a media statement for the Ministry of Health. A copy of that draft has been seen by Reuters, stating the forum's finding: The new Indian variants have two important mutations that cling to human efforts, and have been found in 15% to 20% of samples in Maharashtra.

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