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With 101 omicron cases, the center says, there is no evidence that says vaccines are not effective. 10 points

December 17, 2021
Bharat Times English News

omicron, covid 19
Image Source: PTI File

A medic collects sample from a passenger for COVID-19 test

Highlight

  • The Center said that at present there are 101 cases of the Omron variant in the country.
  • “It is time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings,” urged Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR.
  • Meanwhile, India recorded 7,974 Covid-19 cases and 343 deaths on Thursday.

The Union Health Ministry said in a press conference on the status of Kovid-19 in India on Friday that there are 101 cases of the new Omron variant in the country at present. Stating that the omicron variant has been reported in 91 countries of the world, the health ministry said, “WHO has stated that omicron is spreading faster than the delta variant in South Africa where the delta circulation was low.” Health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said it is likely that Omicron will overtake the delta version where community transmission occurs.

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Here are highlights of what the Center has to say about the new Omron version in India:

  1. Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, “New daily cases were recorded below 10,000 for the last 20 days. The positivity for the last 1 week was 0.65%. Presently, Kerala contributes 40.31% to the total number of active cases in the country. ” , Ministry of Health
  2. “India is administering the COVID19 vaccine dose at the highest rate in the world and the daily rate of administered dose is 4.8 times the dose rate administered in the USA and 12.5 times the dose rate administered in the UK,” he said. .
  3. ICMR Director General Dr. Balram Bhargava said, “It is time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings and it is very important to observe low intensity celebrations.”
  4. The ministry said that a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic is being experienced in Europe with a rapid increase in cases.
  5. Dr. VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog, said: “Genome sequencing of every sample is not possible. This is a surveillance and epidemiological assessment and tracking tool, not yet a diagnostic tool. We can assure that adequate systematic sampling is being done.
  6. On anti-viral pills, Dr. Bhargava, DG ICMR said, “We are discussing these anti-viral COVID-19 pills. We have found that these pills should be given very early even before diagnosis of the disease. Scientific data is still not largely supported that the pills will be useful at this time.”
  7. “There is no evidence that vaccines are not effective against the Omicron version of the coronavirus,” Lav Agarwal said.
  8. Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the national capital’s Omron tally now stands at 20, of which 10 have been discharged. Jain said that at present there are 40 people, who are admitted in Lok Nayak Hospital, as suspected cases of the variant, of which 38 are Covid-19 positive. “No serious symptoms have been shown in any of the cases so far,” he said.
  9. The Center had also issued new travel rules from December 1, making RT-PCR test mandatory for foreign arrivals from countries deemed ‘at risk’.
  10. Meanwhile, India recorded 7,974 Covid-19 cases and 343 deaths on Thursday. With 7,948 recoveries, the active cases in the country rose to 87,245.

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