In the last few weeks, Covid cases have hit the headlines again. As of Monday 17 April, India reported 9,111 new coronavirus infections. As per data from the Health Ministry, active cases has increased to 60,313. The medical fraternity is of the opinion that rising Covid cases in the country may be attributed to XBB.1.16, a sub-variant of the Omicron virus.
The coronavirus originally broke out in December 2019 before taking the world by storm in early 2020. Medically, the virus goes towards the endemic stage, which could be understood as a disease outbreak that is present but confined to a particular region. To that effect, it could be predictable and somewhat manageable. When the virus reaches the endemic stage it generates variants, one such being Omicron, which made news in 2021. Reportedly, it has been assigned over 1,000 sub-lineages since it was detected. Medically, the virus that caused Covid mutates and leads to new strains like XBB.1.16. As per...