Delhi has reported 10 new cases of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, taking the total number in the city to 20. Of these 20, five patients have been discharged while five more are being prepared to leave the hospital. Among the 10 new cases, two each are from the UK, Sweden, UAE, Tanzania and South Africa. Speaking to News 18, Dr Suresh Kumar, the director of LNJP Hospital where the patients are currently being treated, said that the 40-bed special ward has already been expanded to 100 following Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain’s instructions.
“We have so far 20 confirmed Omicron cases. All the patients are stable. Not a single patient is serious or critical. One or two patients only have mild symptoms like low-grade fever and sore throat. We have successfully discharged five cases already and five more are planned for discharge,” said Dr Kumar.
On December 6, Delhi reported its first Omicron case. The highest single-day spike in cases of the new variant was four on December 14. Currently, there are 49 patients admitted in LNJP with more than 10 being admitted on Thursday night from the airport. “We are seeing that Omicron cases are definitely increasing over the past few days,” said Dr Kumar, attributing the spike to a jump in Omicron cases globally with more than fifty countries recording them and a majority of the cases being reported in Delhi are international travellers arriving at the airport.
Not a single Omicron case has had the requirement of an ICU, said Dr Kumar, adding that most of the patients just require isolation. A majority of the confirmed Omicron cases had already received their two doses of vaccines.
“With the vaccine, the clinical profile of the disease…the disease spectrum is mild. We have only minimal symptoms. Otherwise, if the patient is not vaccinated, the disease severity is much more. Deaths are much more if one is not vaccinated. We have seen that these vaccines are protective, they prevent deaths, they prevent ICU admission, they prevent major complications,” said Dr Kumar, underlining that Omicron patients are recovering and regaining their health due to the “protective power” of the vaccines, which shield the respiratory tract from the invasion of the virus.
Also, none of the Omicron cases in Delhi have respiratory distress, severe cough, breathlessness, or low oxygen saturation. In fact, the oxygen saturation levels of all these patients are normal. However, the doctor pointed out that it is a matter of concern as well as a challenge given the fact the number is going up very rapidly.
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, currently on a Punjab visit, maintained that unless international flights from ‘at-risk’ countries are banned, the capital would be vulnerable to a possible spike in cases. Meanwhile, the city has reported 85 fresh cases of Covid and a positivity rate of 0.15%, which is the highest in over five months.
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