Omicron scare in India: One needs to be careful in the coming days, says top expert

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country has spiralled up and one needs to be careful in the coming days, a senior doctor at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said on Wednesday.

Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said, "We are in the third wave as the number of cases has spiralled up and we have to be careful in the coming days."

"The cases are increasing by the day. Also, because of the festivities like New Year celebrations, people went to different cities of the country. They have got infected over there as well. We are in the third wave. There is no doubt about it," Chatterjee said.

Talking about how political rallies are contributing to the surge in COVID cases, Chatterjee said, "Obviously, in the political rallies, you see a rush. Hardly a few are seen wearing a mask. From the government point of view, they need to have restrictions. I believe that these rallies also need to stop. The transmissibility of Omicron is so high that it is spreading like wildfire."

"Many people who visit different cities are found without masks. Many of them in smaller cities are not even wearing a mask. People are not scared of Omicron as they are dismissing it as a mild variant. Following this, many people are not practising social distancing now," he said.

On whether the Omicron variant is a deadly variant of COVID, Chatterjee said, "Till now Omicron is not a very virulent disease. It is very transmissible but it's not virulent. It is such a highly transmissible virus. People having co-morbidities, asthmatic, diabetes might become sick. Not just because of COVID-19, all other viruses can make them sick."

"Vaccination is a must. Vaccinate as early as possible and as many people as possible. The government has to monitor that people do not accumulate in a place. Citizens have to take a lot of precautions. If we take a lot of precautions, curtail our movement and only do essential stuff, I think that's the way ahead because we have seen that this virus has an immune escape phenomenon. That means people who have had infections earlier, vaccinated fully are also getting infected. So, the only way to protect yourself is masking yourself, maintaining social distancing and not going to these parties and avoiding all gatherings," he further said.

India reported 58,097 fresh COVID cases, 15,389 recoveries, and 534 deaths in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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