Omicron in India: What, how, and 7 latest developments on newest Covid variant
It almost feels like March 2020 all over again. The new Covid variant Omicron has brought back the fear of the unknown. No one knows what this new mutated virus will do, whether it is more severe, less severe, or more transmissible or less transmissible.
And most of us also don't know how to pronounce the word properly. (Psst: There's no agreed-upon pronunciation of Omicron yet. Till then, say it like you want to.)
Here are 7 Omicron updates from India and other parts of the world you need to know:
1. CASES RISING IN INDIA
Since Omicron was detected in South Africa, countries have started looking for the new Covid-19 variant in local cases as well. India’s total Omicron cases rose to 21 after 17 new cases were detected on Sunday.
Most of the infected people either arrived from African countries or came into contact with such people.
One new Omicron case was detected in New Delhi. The infected person has a travel history to Tanzania and is also fully vaccinated. The patient is currently in institutional quarantine.
Nine cases were reported in Jaipur, including 4 members of a family who recently arrived from South Africa.
Seven cases were detected in Maharashtra. Of the 7, 6 are from a single family, who returned from Nigeria last month. The 7th infected person had a travel history to Finland.
2. HYBRID IMMUNITY AND OMICRON
The Executive Director of AIIMS, Bibinagar, Dr Vikas Bhatia said that people with hybrid immunity may be better prepared to deal with Omicron. Explaining hybrid immunity, Dr Bhatia said that it is antibodies acquired from both previous Covid infection and vaccination.
People with 'hybrid immunity' are better protected from Omicron: Dr. Vikas Bhatia, Executive Director, AIIMS (Bibinagar), Hyderabad#LargestVaccineDrive@PMOIndia @mansukhmandviya @ianuragthakur @DrBharatippawar @PIB_India @COVIDNewsByMIB @mygovindia @airnewsalerts @DDNewslive pic.twitter.com/ZSRw8zikht
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) December 5, 2021
He separately told ANI that India should prepare for a possible third wave in view of the rising Omicron cases. However, he also said that since no death has been reported so far in the world due to Omicron, it may not be fatal.
3. DELHI AIRPORT TURNS INTO FISH MARKET
If you look at Indira Gandhi International Airport now, you may mistake it for a small-town fish market. Chaos and crowds have erupted at Delhi airport due to the Omicron scare, and heightened surveillance measures.
Scenes yesterday at Delhi airport #Covid hotspot pic.twitter.com/SoM6RNumYO
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) December 5, 2021
Scores of people are lined up in unending queues to get their RT-PCR tests. So far, all passengers arriving from at-risk countries have to mandatorily get tested upon landing and wait for their results to leave the airport.
2% of passengers arriving from other countries also need to get tested.
4. ICMR ISOLATING OMICRON STRAIN
ICMR scientists at the National Institute of Virology in Pune are isolating the Omicron strain to study how it affects vaccine efficacy. The scientists will be testing whether the Omicron strain dilutes the efficacy of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines. They will also test whether the new variant will be able to outfight the antibodies derived from Covid infection from older strains.
5. HOW SEVERE IS OMICRON?
US President Joe Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci told the CNN that they need more information before drawing conclusions about Omicron’s severity, standalone or compared to the Delta variant.
However, he added that so far, the variant doesn’t seem to be causing severe infection cases.
6. OMICRON CASES INCREASE BY 50% IN UK
Omicron cases in the UK seem to be increasing at an alarming rate. On Saturday, UK had 160 Omicron Covid cases. By December 5, the total cases increased to 246. 86 new cases were detected on Sunday.
7. OMICRON HAS HIGHER RISK OF REINFECTION
Singapore’s Health Ministry on Sunday said that initial observations in Omicron cases worldwide suggest it is more transmissible than Delta or Beta variants of Covid-19. The Ministry also said that the Omicron variant seems to come with a higher risk of reinfection compared to the other variants.
It means that there’s a higher possibility for people who’ve recovered from Covid-19 infection to be reinfected with Omicron.