Back'Omicron to spread like wildfire if...': What doctors say about new Covid strain
Reportedly, 70% Omicron patients are asymptomatic and considering the variant's high transmissibility, it's going to spread like fire, said Dr Naresh Gupta
PremiumDr Naresh Gupta, Director-Prof, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi on Thursday warned that the Omicron variant would spread like fire once it got into the community, news agency ANI reported.
He further cited reports which point out that 70% of Omicron patients are asymptomatic and the next person wouldn't know if the other one is infected.
The doctor also talked about the high transmissibility of the new coronavirus variant Omicron.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday advised people "not to panic, but to be vigilant" while extending New Year greetings.
In a video message posted by AIIMS, Delhi, Dr Guleria said, "Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2022. As we move forward, it is important for us to understand that the pandemic is not over, yet we are in a better position."
AIIMS Delhi director Dr Randeep Guleria had on 22 December said vaccine and Covid-appropriate behaviour are the only two ways to counter the increasing spread of the new variant.
Dr Sambit, Director (Medical) of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Hyderabad, said that India can see a surge in Covid-19 cases by the end of January 2022.
Dr Angelique Coetzee who first identified the Omicron variant in South Africa claimed that India will see a surge in Omicron-driven Covid cases and a high positivity rate but the infection will hopefully be mild.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has tagged the new variant of Sars-Cov2 as a ‘variant of concern’ .
The first Omicron case was detected a month ago in India, and the first global case was detected in South Africa.
Since then India has reported almost 961 of the Omicron variant.
Delhi and Mumbai have shown the maximum spike in cases. Other cities like Gurgaon, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad are not far behind.
Over a 24-hour period, Mumbai logged 2,510 cases of Covid on Wednesday, an 82% jump and Delhi reported 923 cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, an 86% jump from Tuesday.
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