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BIG STORY JANUARY 14, 2022 | The Indian Eye 4

oMiCron WavE

Just a Mild Cold?

omicron virus is highly infectious and it is going to increase the herd immunity. But can india afford a fifth

wave of the deadly virus. amid political rallies, festivals and social gatherings, india faces a big challenge

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi
he new coronavirus variant,
Omicron, is the predominant
Tcirculating strain in India, In-
dian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) Director General Dr Balram
Bhargava said on Wednesday. “Omi-
cron is the predominant circulating
strain in cities in the country. Mass
gatherings should be avoided to lower
the speed of this spread,” Dr Bhar-
gava said during the briefing of the
Union Health Ministry. As per the
ministry, 2,135 cases of Omicron have
been reported in the country with Ma-
harashtra registering the maximum
cases followed by Delhi.
The ministry has also said that
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Del-
hi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
Jharkhand and Gujarat are States of
concern where there has been a rise in
COVID-19 cases. “28 districts in the
country are reporting more than 10
per cent weekly positivity,” Ministry People flout COVID-19 appropriate behavior as they throng Sadar Bazar amid the spike in Omicron cases in New Delhi (ANI Photo/Mohd Zakir)
has said.
India on Wednesday reported have got infected over there as well. people are not practising social dis- I think that’s the way ahead because
58,097 fresh COVID cases and 534 We are in the third wave. There is no tancing now,” he said. we have seen that this virus has an
deaths while on Tuesday, the country doubt about it,” Chatterjee said. On whether the Omicron variant immune escape phenomenon. That
had recorded 37,379 new COVID cas- Talking about how political ral- is a deadly variant of COVID, Chat- means people who have had infec-
es and 124 deaths. lies are contributing to the surge in terjee said, “Till now Omicron is not tions earlier, vaccinated fully are also
The number of COVID-19 cases COVID cases, Chatterjee said, “Ob- a very virulent disease. It is very trans- getting infected. So, the only way to
in the country has spiralled up and viously, in the political rallies, you see missible but it’s not virulent. It is such protect yourself is masking yourself,
one needs to be careful in the com- a rush. Hardly a few are seen wearing a highly transmissible virus. People maintaining social distancing and not
ing days, a senior doctor at the In- a mask. From the government point having co-morbidities, asthmatic, dia- going to these parties and avoiding all
draprastha Apollo Hospital said on of view, they need to have restrictions. betes might become sick. Not just be- gatherings,” he further said.
Wednesday. Senior Consultant, Inter- I believe that these rallies also need to cause of COVID-19, all other viruses “The increase in COVID-19 cas-
nal Medicine, Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, stop. The transmissibility of Omicron can make them sick.” es in winter is a matter of concern for
Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said, is so high that it is spreading like wild- “Vaccination is a must. Vacci- children, the elderly, pregnant women
“We are in the third wave as the num- fire.” nate as early as possible and as many and co-morbid patients with cancer,
ber of cases has spiralled up and we “Many people who visit different people as possible. The government COPD or respiratory failure”, said Dr
have to be careful in the coming days.” cities are found without masks. Many has to monitor that people do not Suresh Kumar, MD of Lok Nayak Jai
“The cases are increasing by the day. of them in smaller cities are not even accumulate in a place. Citizens have Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) on
Also, because of the festivities like wearing a mask. People are not scared to take a lot of precautions. If we Wednesday.
New Year celebrations, people went of Omicron as they are dismissing it take a lot of precautions, curtail our Hospital admission of COVID-19
to different cities of the country. They as a mild variant. Following this, many movement and only do essential stuff, Continued at next page... >>

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