New Delhi:The Central government on Friday said that the number of Omicron cases in the country has crossed the 100 mark, therefore, people need to avoid non-essential travels and keep the new year celebrations low-key. The message was given by a team of top officials from the Health Ministry and other entities, while addressing a press conference on Friday.
During the conference, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said that although daily Covid cases are below 10,000 for the past 20 days, the cases of Omicron variant have reached the 101 mark in 11 states and Union Territories so far.
He gave the state-wise statistics of these cases with 32 cases of the variant reported in Maharashtra, 22 in Delhi, 17 in Rajasthan, eight each in Karnataka and Telangana, five each in Gujarat and Kerala, and one case each in Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava also intimated the masses about the speed with which the Omicron variant is spreading in the European countries, and emphasised the need to keep the festivities for Christmas and New year low-key this year.
He stressed on the fact that districts that have over five per cent positivity rate need to ensure restrictive measures until it comes below five per cent and stays such for at least two weeks.
NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul informed the media that sufficient systematic strategic sampling is being undertaken for genomic sequencing to detect the Omicron cases. He further clarified that India is the country with 'second-highest' number of genomic sequencing being conducted in the world.
Although he underscored that genomic sequencing of every sample is not possible, he said that the process will be intensified in the future. "It is a surveillance and pandemic assessment and tracking tool, not a diagnostic tool as of now," he said.
Drawing a comparison with the cases in Europe where 80% of the population is partially vaccinated, Paul said that going by the population level conversion, the 80,000 cases in the UK would be 14 lakh cases in India.
The government has taken comprehensive and far-reaching measures to prevent the ingress of Omicron through restrictions and monitoring of incoming passengers, he affirmed. He also reassured that currently, the situation is stable although the positivity rate is increasing in some districts.
Also read:India in better position due to vaccination, but caution is key, says top genome scientist on Omicron threat
On being asked whether the Omicron variant is at the community transmission level, Agarwal said, "We cannot say at this point that Omicron variant is widespread in the country. Most cases of Omicron have a travel history or had contacts with those who have travel histories, except for two cases in which we have not been able to establish any such history, but the process is still on."
Referring to WHO, the Joint Secretary said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa and that Omicron spread will likely to outpace Delta where community transmission occurs.
"Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. We are concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild," Agarwal said quoting the WHO Director-General. He reiterated the need for masks, physical distancing, ventilation and hand hygiene, along with vaccines to stay protected.
The priority, he said, must be to inoculate the unvaccinated as the death rate in other countries is more among the unvaccinated. He reassured that there is no evidence to suggest that vaccines are not effective against Omicron.
There is science to say that mix and match of doses can be given and that is being debated. We have seen that with mRNA vaccines in Israel, Germany and Argentina, people have still contracted the Omicron infection after the third dose, he said while commenting on the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines.
About the Covid situation in the country, the government said that 19 districts are reporting weekly positivity between 5 and 10 per cent, and in five districts it is over 10 per cent. He said that the government has administered more than 136 crore doses in the country, which is 2.8 times the total doses administered in the US.
On being asked about booster dose, Paul said vaccine resources are in a good shape and that engagement with the scientific community to look at these issues is in active procession.
"We will opt for this (booster dose) with appropriate evidence at an appropriate time. But, this comes after we provide primary vaccination coverage to the maximum possible population. That remains the foremost goal," he said.
With elections due in some states, Paul said that the issued guidelines will apply to all sections of the society with no exceptions whatsoever.
Also read:Despite three doses, US returnee tests positive for Omicron in Mumbai
