Do not panic because of Omicron, says Satyendar Jain

Health Minister Satyendar Jain addressed the press on Thursday, providing detailed information on the situation in Delhi regarding the new variant, Omicron. Genome sequencing has revealed that most of the corona-positive cases in Delhi are related to Omicron and are thus mild. He further informed that out of 200 patients admitted in Delhi hospitals, only 102 are residents of Delhi and the remaining 98 are from outside Delhi. All Omicron patients are admitted to different hospitals in Delhi. The Delhi government is keeping a close watch on the increasing cases. The team of experts is constantly sharing information on the situation with the Delhi government. Delhi Government has decided to open step-down COVID Care Centers at 4 locations (Terapath Bhawan, Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre, Commonwealth Games Village Akshardham and IBIS Hotel).

Health Minister Satyendar Jain gave detailed information on the situation in Delhi on the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron. He said, “Corona cases have increased rapidly in the last few days. According to the latest report of Genome Sequencing, 54% of the cases are of the omicron variant. This includes both, those who have a travel history and those who do not have travel history. This means the possibility of community spread in Delhi now seems to be increasing.

None of the hospitalized patients have required oxygen at present and most patients have only had minor symptoms. However, the most serious problem is that it is spreading much faster than the Delta variant. Most of the patients are having very subtle symptoms of corona and they do not need to be hospitalized. Therefore, the Delhi Government has decided to open step-down COVID Care Centers at 4 locations (Teerapath Bhawan, Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre, Commonwealth Games Village Akshardham, and IBIS Hotel).

Step Down Covid Care Center is used when the patient’s health improves after keeping the patient in the hospital for a few days, then the patient does not require medical attention in the hospital. The patient is then sent to the step-down Covid Care Center where he/she is looked after by health care workers. Each Covid Care Center has a capacity of 100 to 500 patients.”

Satyendar Jain further informed, “there are about 200 patients admitted in the hospital in Delhi, out of which 115 people have come positive at the airport and they have been kept in the hospital in isolation”. Out of these 200 patients, 102 are from Delhi (mostly returned to India from abroad) and the remaining 98 are from outside Delhi. Apart from this, in view of the third wave of Corona, the Delhi Government has issued instructions to all its hospitals to keep stock of medicines ready for the next 3 months.”

Giving more details about the Yellow Alert, Satyendar Jain said, “according to the GRAP, a Yellow Alert has been issued in Delhi. For the time being, the government has decided not to issue a Level 2 alert. Alerts will be issued according to the GRAP in Delhi. The probability of issuing a Level 2 alert is based on three main factors.

If more than 1% of corona cases are reported for 2 consecutive days or more than 3500 cases are reported for 7 consecutive days or 700 oxygen beds are occupied for 7 consecutive days. Apart from this, he said that “DDMA meetings are being held from time to time, in which discussions are being done whether to increase the alert level or not and accordingly the people of Delhi are being informed about the situation.

While assuring the people of Delhi, Jain said that the Health Department is keeping a close watch on the situation in Delhi. The Delhi government is ready to take all possible steps if needed. All experts related to pandemic and health are in touch with the Delhi government and are cooperating with the government in every step related to health security. Delhi government is ready with all possible resources to control Corona. We have enough oxygen, medicines and beds available in hospitals.

The Health Minister urged the people of Delhi to strictly follow the Covid protocol. He appealed to the people of Delhi  to wear masks and follow social distancing for safety in public places and said that there is no need to panic with Corona, as prevention is better than cure.The Omicron variant is a variant of the corona itself and the protocol for its treatment and prevention is also the same as before. Everyone should wear a mask and follow social distancing.

healthysoch