Covid-19 cases are on the rise in India and the graph is spiking due to the new variant Omicron. This new variant is infecting people in many cities, with Mumbai and Delhi the worst hit. The period for the spread of Omicron, which is said to be many times more infectious than Delta, is very less according to health experts.
What is worrying is that it can infect a healthy person in just one minute of contact, say some experts.
Omicron has a very high infection capacity, according to Dr Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Head of the Department of Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine at Vardhman Mahaveer Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. According to the studies that have been published so far, Omicron is spreading 70 percent faster than the delta variant.
It is claimed that Omicron spread through travellers, but according to a recent report in Delhi there are 53 such patients who have no travel history. It is impossible to find out how Omicron got to these people in this situation. Tracing its origin is becoming increasingly difficult.
Additionally, the time of contact may be a significant factor. A single patient has the potential to infect an entire train, according to experts. Dr Gupta says assume a person infected with Omicron is travelling in a public vehicle such as metro or bus, in such a case they might end up infecting everyone on board. Since Omicron has a high capacity for infection within a short period of time such a situation is very much possible.
“A single omicron patient can infect the passengers of an entire train since it spreads so rapidly and its time to infect is also very less,” says Dr Gupta.
Dr Gupta also explains that it has been noticed that patients with Omicron variants in hospitals don’t require an ICU or an oxygen cylinder. To date, there are no cases of oxygen levels dropping in the case of Omicron patients. The virus reaches or affects the lungs, causing a drop in oxygen levels. As a result, we can conclude that Omicron does not reach the lungs or has no ability to affect them. “Omicron is a milder form of coronavirus that is more infectious but less harmful,” informs Dr Gupta.
In the last 24 hours, India has seen 16,764 new Covid-19 cases and 1,270 new Omicron infections. Maharashtra has surpassed other states in the total number of Omicron cases, with 450.
Tags: Omicron, Covid-19, coronavirus
