The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India has reported an increase in COVID cases since yesterday. As of January 27, 2022 (8:00 IST), there has been a total of 286,180 new cases reported across India.
Kerala has reported 49,771 cases followed by Karnataka registering 48,905 cases, and Maharashtra stands at 35,756 cases at this time. Today’s number is slightly higher than yesterday’s but below the 300,00 that was previously reported.
A pre-published study reveals that COVID variants Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron survive longer on plastic and skin surfaces. This is in comparison with the original strain from Wuhan, China. The study shows what might be key information as to why omicron spreads fast. The first observation is that remain alive on the skin for over 21 hours. The second is that it could survive more than eight days on plastic surfaces.
The researchers from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan conducted the study. It is focused on the viral environmental stability between the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain and all variants of concern (VOCs).
“The high environmental stability of these VOCs could increase the risk of contact transmission and contribute to their spread,” the authors of the study said. “This study showed that Omicron has the highest environmental stability among VOCs, which might be one of the factors that have allowed the variant to replace the Delta variant and spread rapidly,” they added.
Follow us to know the latest update on India COVID cases.