54 Omicron variant cases in Delhi, Health Minister Satyendar Jain asks people not to panic
NEW DELHI: In a sharp spike, Omicron cases in the capital increased to 54 on Tuesday, almost doubling the number recorded until Monday. Delhi also saw 102 fresh Covid cases along with one fatality.
According to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, 17 of the 34 Omicron patients admitted in Lok Nayak Hospital have been discharged after recovery, while another 20 are in private hospitals. Health officials said these patients are stable and showing no severe symptoms.
Amid the jump in cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Delhi, doctors have warned that the situation may worsen if people don’t follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and avoid all kinds of gatherings as this is a highly transmissible variant.
Though Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had said on Monday that all Covid-positive samples need to be sent for genome sequencing to ascertain if the infection is of the Omicron variant, Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, believes it is not necessary.
“In the UK, where Omicron cases are on the rise, the death rate has gone down. Genome sequencing conducted so far shows that all the Omicron cases are mild. If we panic and use up all our resources, it can create problems in future for the capital,” said Dr Kishore.
The state health minister too said that although caution is necessary, there is no need to panic.
“As Omicron is a variant of the coronavirus, the protocol for its treatment and prevention remains the same — wear a mask, follow social distancing and get fully vaccinated,” he added.
The minister also announced that the Delhi government is in constant touch with the Centre regarding availability of booster doses.
Genome sequencing of all Covid-positive samples are being done in Delhi, where there are four labs for the purpose — two run by the Centre and two by the state government.
The two labs of the Delhi government can do genome sequencing of more than 100 samples a day. On Tuesday, the positivity rate stood at 0.2 per cent, according to data shared by Delhi health department data.
The capital has recorded four deaths due to the virus so far in December. Seven deaths were reported in November, four in October and five in September.
As per the department’s health bulletin, Delhi’s case count has increased to 14,42,390 and over 14.16 lakh people have recovered. The active case count crossed the 500-mark on Sunday.
Delhi active case count crosses 500 mark
The active case count in Delhi crossed the 500-mark after over four months on Sunday, when the national capital reported 107 cases, its highest daily rise since June 25, and one death. However, the good news is that over 14.16 lakh people have recovered so far.