There are already 101 confirmed cases of the variant in India. The Union Health Ministry has warned that 19 districts across the country were at high risk of a surge in COVID-19 cases and stressed on following COVID-appropriate behaviour which essentially means that face masks and social distancing become necessary again. The ministry has also recommended against unnecessary travel and large gatherings. As COVID-19 cases had dropped, people had relaxed their vigilance and these reminders serve to get the people back into the pandemic guideline.
States have been asked to increase surveillance measures and turn the focus on sequencing positive samples to identify omicron cases. Goa has so far not reported a single omicron variant case, but travellers who have been tested on arrival have been found to be positive for COVID-19 and the samples sent from genome testing. Until now, not a single one has been positive for the omicron variant. Goa, however, cannot afford to relax as it has opened up for tourism, charter flights have begun landing and the peak tourism week is coming up this month. It has already been established that most of the omicron cases in the country have a travel history or have had contact with persons who have travelled, which increases the risk for Goa due to its tourism potentail.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
What requires to be taken seriously is that the ministry has, based on the manner in which the omicron strain has spread in the UK, projected that if there is an outbreak in India this could lead to 14 lakh cases a day. Even at the peak of the second wave when the Delta variant had devastated the country earlier this year the daily case load had crossed four lakh. The predicted number in case of a new wave is three times higher than what the country has experienced. India cannot go through a similar situation again, which means that every precaution has to be taken. It is no longer recommendatory but essential to use face masks and keep physical distance.
Omicron, first reported from South Africa in November, has now been found in 91 countries and is found to spread fast. The reassuring piece of news regarding this new variant, is that it has less severe symptoms and so far there has been just one death and that too in the United Kingdom, which is seeing the largest rise in cases since the pandemic first started. On December 16 the UK saw a high of over 88,000 new cases reported. Not just UK, but many countries in Europe are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and most of Europe is around 80 per cent vaccinated and many countries, UK especially, are urging their citizens to take a booster shot.
Two years after the coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China the world is still reeling under the pandemic and just when it was expected to decline, cases have begun to shoot up again. Not just India, but the entire world that had relaxed a little after cases of COVID -19 had dropped, is now back on alert. The omicron strain was designated as a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation last month asking countries to be vigilant. The strain’s potential to spread and infect quickly has had the G7 (Group of seven) call it the ‘biggest threat to global public health’. India has not seen a spurt in cases, though the strain has been detected. It can succeed in warding off a third wave if it can keep the numbers down. Only pandemic restrictions will help.
