NEW DELHI: The COVID spike in the capital continued on Tuesday, with 496 fresh cases, including 23 of Omicron, and one death being reported. The city has so far reported a total of 165 Omicron cases.
"Those who were not infected in the first and the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and are not vaccinated are highly vulnerable to the new Omicron variant, which has been increasing expeditiously in the city," said Dr Jugal Kishore, professor and head of community medicine department at Safdarjung Hospital.
"The Omicron has many mutations in surface glycoprotein which are attached to the human cells. It is a variant of concern because it has many such characteristics like evading vaccine immunity, high transmissibility and different clinical presentation. Omicron can transmit to 500-600 people at once," he added.
Dr Suresh Kumar, Medical Director of Lok Nayak Hospital, said nine Omicron suspects were admitted to the facility from the airport on Tuesday. All samples had been sent for genome sequencing. At present, 70 patients of Omicron variant are admitted in the hospital. According to officials, the patients have showed very mild symptoms or none at all in many cases.