COVID-19 News & Updates: For more than a month, the outbreak of coronavirus has been seen in many countries of the world including India. This new wave, which started in Hong Kong and Singapore in May, started increasing rapidly in India as well. In three weeks, the active cases in the country had increased to more than 7400, although a decline in infection cases has been seen for the last two to three days.

According to the information shared on the Covid dashboard of the Union Health Ministry, the active cases have come down to 5976 on June 19 (Thursday), as well as new cases have also come down significantly.

More than 1200 people have recovered from the infection in the last one day, although three more deaths have been recorded. There were a total of 7383 active cases on June 15 (Sunday), which came down to 7264 the next day i.e. on June 16. There has been a further decline on June 17 when the total active cases became 6836. That is, the decrease in infection cases is continuing.

Health experts say, even though the pace of corona has decreased in the country, it is still important to remain cautious about the risks of infection. Some variants of coronavirus spread in India are raising serious concerns in many other countries, so do not make the mistake of taking coronavirus lightly.

Two variants Nimbus and Stratus

There is a lot of discussion these days about two variants of corona, Nimbus and Stratus. Some reports claim that the infectiousness rate of these variants can be up to two and a half times higher than the previous variants of Omicron. That is, in the population in which these variants start increasing, there may be a risk of rapid increase in infection among people.

Are there any new variants, about which all people need to be alert? Let us understand this in detail.

Are there any new variants?

If we look at the medical reports, it is known that Nimbus and Stratus are not new variants, but they are nicknames of the NB.1.8.1 and XFG variants spreading rapidly in India. The World Health Organization (WHO) has currently placed six coronavirus variants as 'variants under monitoring' – which means that due to their increasing spread and potential health risks, they may require priority attention and tracking by health officials.

Stratus is considered to be more infectious.

In its latest update on 23 May 2025, WHO said that initial research and evidence done on NB.1.8.1 suggests that NB.1.8.1 is a form of the Omicron variant, which is not very effective and serious. This variant has a higher infectious rate but it does not pose any additional public health risk.

The Stratus or XFG variant was first detected in Canada and has rapidly affected the global population. By the end of May, it had 25% cases in Europe, while NB.1.8.1 cases were 9%. It is also spreading in India, where there were 206 active cases of coronavirus till June 11, which increased to 7400 by June 15. However, now it is continuously decreasing.

What do experts say?

Health experts have already been saying that such fluctuations in coronavirus cases may continue in a country with a large population like India. Since the risk of infection remains constant, all people need to continue taking preventive measures. The pace of infection can be reduced by following COVID-appropriate behavior (mask, avoiding crowds, hand hygiene).

PC Social media