Most Omicron patients asymptomatic, but fatigue, throat rash common: Doctors

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak Hospital, the largest Covid-19 hospital in Delhi, said that till Monday 138 Omicron patients had been admitted to the facility. Of them, 105 had already been discharged

Most patients infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Delhi are showing symptoms similar to the Delta variant but with milder intensity, doctors said on Tuesday. While a majority of these patients are asymptomatic, symptomatic patients are complaining of fatigue, throat rash and mild fever, they added.

Senior officials of Delhi government’s health department said that since Omicron is the dominant variant in the city currently, majority of the detected cases are testing positive for this variant. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak Hospital, the largest Covid-19 hospital in Delhi, said that till Monday 138 Omicron patients had been admitted to the facility. Of them, 105 had already been discharged. He also said that a majority of them were asymptomatic, and the others showed mild symptoms.

“Omicron patients are exhibiting mild symptoms for around three or four days. We have already discharged 105 patients,” Dr Kumar said.

“Since all Omicron cases are being institutionally isolated at the moment, many patients complain of fatigue and tightness in the throat. In cases where patients complain of fever, it lasts for around two days. But it is too early to say that these are the only symptoms of Omicron. We will require more data to say for sure,” said a senior doctor at Lok Nayak Hospital.

Senior officials of Delhi government’s health department said that since Omicron is the dominant variant in the city currently, majority of the detected cases are testing positive for this variant. Health minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said that over the last few days, 81.28% Covid-19 cases detected in the national capital tested positive for the Omicron variant.

“Until now, the symptoms of Omicron are mild and that is also the trend that we are seeing globally. Our appeal to the public is to not panic and get vaccinated. From yesterday (January 3), we started the vaccination drive for teenagers between 15 and 17 years. Please get your children also inoculated so that even if you catch the infection, its intensity is low,” said a senior Delhi government official.

Delhi government data shows that on Tuesday, 531 hospital beds were occupied by patients, of whom 14 were on ventilator support, 168 showed moderate symptoms and 308 were either asymptomatic or showed mild symptoms. This figure also includes 41 suspected cases.