COVID-19: No need to panic due to Omicron, say doctors

A weekend lockdown has been implemented in Delhi due to the increasing cases of coronavirus, but experts from the government believe that this new variant of COVID-19 Omicron is not very deadly. Doctors treating Omicron patients in Delhi themselves have disclosed this in an exclusive conversation with Zee News.

At present, the graph of coronavirus is rising rapidly in India and on Tuesday, more than 37,000 new cases were reported. These cases are the highest in the last 108 days. On the other hand, if we talk about the daily positivity rate of India, it has increased 4 times in the last 7 days. India's daily infection rate was 0.79% on 29 December 2021, so today it is 3.24% on 4 January 2022.

The Omicron variant is believed to be the reason behind the rapidly increasing cases of coronavirus, which spreads rapidly. In such a situation, Zee News has had a special conversation with doctors treating Omicron patients since December 2021 about how this Omicron variant of COVID-19 is and what is its effect on infected people.

So far, a total of 382 Omicron infected patients have been found in Delhi, out of which 138 patients were admitted to Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital (LNJP). According to Dr Suresh Kumar, the medical director of the hospital, about 85-90 percent of all Omicron cases that had come to LNJP so far were asymptomatic which could have been cured even in isolation at home.

A total of 105 out of 138 patients admitted due to Omicron infection in LNJP have gone to their homes after becoming negative in just 5 to 7 days. In patients infected with Omicron, the symptoms were only in those who were already ill and their immunity was low, although these symptoms were also common cold and cough.

According to Dr Vivek Nangia, who has been treating Omicron patients at Max Hospital, Delhi's since December 2021, out of all the Omicron patients who have come to his hospital so far, all have been cured with normal paracetamol and anti-allergic medicines. At the same time, in the second wave from Delta, patients of coronavirus had to be given from steroid to Monoclonal Antibody Treatment. The biggest reason for this is the no severe symptoms or decreasing oxygen levels in Omicron patients.

In Delhi too, at present, the maximum number of cases of coronavirus have been reported after May 2021, but its effect is not visible in the hospitals at present. This can be gauged from the fact that at present, there are more than 14,000 active cases in Delhi, out of which only 1,308 patients have needed to be hospitalized.

At the same time, out of the over 14,000 active cases, only 544 have needed oxygen, 131 needed ICU and 62 patients required ventilator. That is, out of 100 corona infected patients in Delhi, only 9 have to be hospitalized. At the same time, oxygen is required by 4 out of 100 corona infected patients. ICU is needed for about 1 out of 100 corona infected patients and ventilator is needed for every 250 corona infected in Delhi.

In such a situation, the doctors treating the patients of Omicron advise people not to panic in any way, because stress will reduce their own immunity against coronairus and they will take more time to recover if infected.

Amid rising coronavirus cases in India, restrictions have also been increased by governments in many states. Weekend lockdown has also been imposed in national capital Delhi in view of the increasing cases of Omicron. However, from all the cases of Omicron that have come up in the whole world including India so far, one thing is certain that there is a need to fight, not to panic.