Coronavirus cases: Asymptomatic patients transmitting COVID-19 like wildfire in India

New Delhi, Apr 24: With the second wave of the COVID-19 ravages India with a vengeance, the death rate is alarmingly growing and thousands of asymptomatic patients are fast transmitting the highly infectious strains which could put the entire nation to a halt sooner than expected if not controlled, experts warned on Saturday.

The threat of double and now a triple-mutant Indian strain, along with the deadly UK variant, are believed to be behind the latest surge across the country.

According to reports, over 400 cases of the UK strain and 76 of the Indian double mutants have been found in Delhi alone and nearly 11 per cent samples from across the country show variants of concern.

As many as 1,644 cases of the UK strain have been found in India, along with 112 cases of the South African strain, one of the Brazilian strains and 732 cases of the double mutant that emerged in the country.

"The UK strain directly correlates to the Delhi surge. Both the UK variant and B1617 (double mutation) are present. The scenario is still unfolding. If we co-relate with the surge, I think it directly co-relates with the type of variant we're observing," informed Sujeet Kumar Singh, director, NCDC, during a webinar on Friday.

The B1617 variant, first detected in Maharashtra, contains mutations from two separate virus variants -- E484Q and L452R. The third mutation evolved from the double mutation where three different Covid strains combined to form a new variant.

A total of 3,46,786 Covid cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, and 2,624 deaths, the highest single-day deaths so far in the country, according to health ministry's reports on Saturday.

India registered over 2,000 deaths for the fourth consecutive day with the highest spike in single-day deaths. A total of 1,89,544 have lost their lives due to Covid-19 in India since the beginning of the pandemic last year.