Private hospitals in Delhi witness surge in Covid patients, doctors advise caution
India Today
Private hospitals in North India are reporting a surge in the number of patients with Covid-19 symptoms. The BA.2.75 subvariant of omicorn is one of the major reasons for this. Omicron subvariants are capable of escaping the body’s immune system, leading to a rise in cases.
A fresh wave of covid is clearly on the rise in North India, with a huge number of patients having symptoms related to the upper respiratory tract including fever, soar throat, cough, and running nose. The new sublineage of omicron, BA.2.75, is one of the major reasons behind the increase in infection rates, and due to this, hospitalisation has increased.
The subvariants of omicron are causing reinfection, as they are capable of escaping immunity. Though the symptoms are mild in the majority of the patients, a few progress to severe stages.
In Delhi, the hospitalisation rate has doubled from 3.23 per cent on August 1 to 6.23 per cent on August 17. The national capital reported the highest positivity rate at 19.20 per cent. Active cases rose from 4,274 on August 1 to 6,809 on August 17.
Therefore, doctors have advised precautions, while the government is stressing on taking booster doses. Aakash Healthcare Hospital has nine patients admitted due to covid and around 25 per cent of them are on oxygen.
Dr Akshay Budhraja, Senior Consultant, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine said, "Masking, hand hygiene, avoid overcrowding. Get vaccinated as per the protocol. If experiencing a cough, cold or fever, isolate yourself and get a covid RTPCR test."
Read: Delhi hospital study finds new highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant of coronavirus
Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder-Director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals said, “Luckily, this variant, Omicron 2.75, is not affecting the lungs. Patients suffering from other diseases have more chance of testing positive, which is why we are seeing more patients in hospital recently, but they are not only suffering from covid primarily but are covid positive. We need to keep following the same precautions as earlier.”
