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Delhi’s Covid spike not due to festivals, but Omicron; peak likely by mid-February: Expert
The doctor further said the government should formulate guidelines for the proper management of Covid-19 and urged people to not ambush hospitals if they suffer from a mild infection.
As Delhi continued to witness a steady rise in Coronavirus cases, experts said on Monday infections will keep on growing in number in the next couple of months due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. According to some of the experts, a peak in the viral disease is likely to come by mid-February.
A PTI report quoting epidemiologist Giridhar R Babu said the number of cases were rising not because of the ongoing festive season when people gather in large numbers, but the Omicron strain of the virus that has been categorised by the World Health Organisation as a ‘variant of concern’.
“The cases will see a rapid ascent and a rapid descent and the peak is likely to come between mid-January and mid-February,” he said, adding those who have not been vaccinated and have not been infected with the virus are more susceptible to the infection.
Another expert said the number of coronavirus cases and the positivity rate will increase, but it will not translate into mortality. "What we can say is that 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the present cases could be related to Omicron, while the rest could be due to other variants. The transmission occurs because of proximity. In winter, people are indoors and meet each other in a close-knit environment, and even the number of influenza cases rises during this period," Dr Jugal Kishore, the head of the community medicine department at the Safdarjung hospital, was quoted as saying.
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The doctor further said the government should formulate guidelines for the proper management of Covid-19 and urged people to not ambush hospitals if they suffer from a mild infection.
"All kinds of disasters are the result of a system failure. The government should formulate guidelines on proper management. Those who are suffering from issues like a severe headache or fever should go to hospitals, while the rest should manage at home and should not even go for testing. After testing positive, the person will panic trying to grab hospital beds and medicines," he said.
Delhi reported 331 fresh cases of coronavirus disease and one death in the last 24 hours, according to the latest state health department's bulletin. The active Covid cases currently stood at 1,289, of which 692 are in home isolation.
Delhi has so far reported 142 cases of Omicron, according to Union health ministry data. As a precautionary measure, the Delhi government has imposed a night curfew in the city from 11pm to 5am.
