NEW DELHI: Multi-vitamins and paracetamol were the only treatment provided to Omicron patients at Delhi's Lok Nayak hospital so far, doctors said on Friday.
The LNJP Hospital, which is the Delhi government's largest healthcare facility, has reported 40 cases of the new coronavirus variant of concern till now.
Nineteen of these patients have already been discharged.
A senior doctor at the hospital said around 90 per cent of the patients are "asymptotic" and the rest showed mild symptoms like "sore throat, low-grade fever and body ache".
"The treatment included only multi-vitamins and paracetamol tablets. We didn't feel the need to give them any other medicine," he said.
The doctor said most of the patients are those who tested COVID-19 positive at the airport upon arrival from foreign countries.
Most of them are fully vaccinated and "three-four have even taken booster shots", he added.
The patients included an MP of an African country, a member of a royal family from a north Indian state, and family members of bureaucrats, a source said.
According to data from the Union Health Ministry, Delhi has logged 67 Omicron cases so far, of which 23 have been discharged.
Besides the LNJP Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital, Max Hospital Saket, Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj and Batra Hospital in Tughlakabad have also set up facilities for treating and isolating suspected cases of Omicron following orders from the city government.
WATCH |
Genome sequencing of samples of all COVID-19-infected people in Delhi is being conducted since Wednesday (December 22) to ascertain if the new Omicron variant has spread in the community.
The Delhi government-run labs at the Lok Nayak hospital and the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences can sequence 100 samples each day.
Two Centre-run labs in Delhi can sequence 200-300 samples a day, according to city Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
Anticipating a surge in Covid cases due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his government has made preparations to handle one lakh patients and conduct three lakh tests daily, and to ensure availability of enough manpower, medicines and oxygen.
Kejriwal stressed that the latest variant of the coronavirus spreads rapidly and claimed that it causes "very mild" infection, fewer hospitalisations and deaths.
Therefore, the government has been focusing on strengthening its home-isolation module, and directions have been issued to hire agencies for treating patients at their homes, he said.
ALSO WATCH |
Amid a rise in Omicron cases, Delhi on Friday recorded 180 fresh Covid infections, the highest in a day since June 16, while the positivity rate mounted to 0.29 per cent, according to the city health department's data.
The spike in daily cases comes on Christmas eve and days ahead of the New Year festivities as people thronged markets and held gatherings despite health experts cautioning them not to lower guard.
Delhi has witnessed an uptick in COVID-19 infections in the last few days.
On Friday, 180 fresh cases were recorded with an increased positivity rate of 0.29 per cent.
The city had logged 212 cases on June 16.
Delhi had logged 118 cases on December 23; 125 on December 22; 102 on December 21; 91 on December 20 and 107 on December 19.
With no death due to Covid reported on Friday, the number of fatalities in December stood at five.
Seven COVID-19 deaths were reported in November, four in October and five in September.
The total number of cases reported in Delhi so far rose to 14,42,813 and of them, over 14.16 lakh patients have recovered.
Active cases stood at 782, up from 684 on Thursday, according to the bulletin.
The number of people in home isolation stood at 375 on Friday while it was 336 a day before.
The city had 207 containment zones on Friday, up from 204 a day before.
A total of 62,697 tests, with 57,583 RT-PCR and 5,114 rapid antigen ones, were conducted a day ago.
The latest bulletin of the Delhi health department, however, did not specify the types of variants detected as far as the quantum of cases reported are concerned, neither did it mention whether the number of people testing positive included those who come from abroad as well.
Genome sequencing takes seven to 10 days to process, officials had earlier said.
On Thursday, Delhi authorities started sending samples of positive cases for genome sequencing to ascertain if the new Omicron variant has spread in the community.
Amid a jump in cases of the Omicron variant in Delhi, doctors have asked people should avoid all gatherings and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, else the pandemic situation may worsen given the highly transmissible nature of the latest variant of coronavirus.
They said a "sense of complacency" has crept in among a large section of citizens despite witnessing the "horrors of the second wave" of Covid infections.
Experts have urged authorities to expedite the vaccination drive.
India has so far reported 358 cases of the Omicron variant, of which 183 were analysed and 121 of them were found to have foreign travel history.
Among the analysed cases, 91 per cent were fully vaccinated with three having booster shots, 70 per cent were asymptomatic, and 61 per cent were males.
The Union government on Friday said the world is witnessing a fourth surge in COVID-19 cases, and cautioned people against lowering the guard, particularly during year-end festivities.
Meanwhile, doctors at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital said multi-vitamins and paracetamol tablets were the only treatment provided to Omicron patients.
The LNJP Hospital, which is the Delhi government's largest healthcare facility, has reported 40 cases of the Omicron variant till now.
Nineteen of these patients have already been discharged.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday said first dose of Covid vaccine has been administered to all people eligible for vaccination and hailed the healthcare and frontline workers who have been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic.
Anticipating a surge in Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant, he had on Thursday said his government has made preparations to handle one lakh patients and conduct three lakh tests daily and ensure availability of enough manpower, medicines and oxygen.
Kejriwal said that his government has also been focusing on strengthening its home-isolation module and directions have been issued to hire agencies for treating patients in their homes.
Learning lessons from a ferocious second wave, starting April, that led to an acute shortage of oxygen in the city, the government has also procured 15 tankers to transport medical oxygen in case of a contingency.