Mask up, shun crowds and avoid travel, say doctors

Gurgaon: You cannot ditch the mask even if you are fully vaccinated. This is the unequivocal advice from doctors amid concern about the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant of SARS-COV2, the virus that causes Covid, and the possibility of another wave.
There is enough anecdotal evidence that shows the guard is down — crowded markets, eateries and malls, for instance. But the bigger unease is the absence of masks on many faces.
The number of new infections being reported in the city is still low but has been showing a consistent upward trend. Case numbers are going up in Delhi too. On Thursday, the city recorded 28 new Covid cases. Twenty-nine infections were recorded in the city on Wednesday and 23 on Tuesday. Currently, there are 139 active cases in the city, the most in nearly six months.
Dr Sushila Kataria, senior director of the department of internal medicine at Medanta, told TOI, “Looking at the surge in Covid-19 cases in other parts of the world, especially the UK, South Africa and US, this might be the beginning of the third wave in India as well. So, we have to be wiser and make sure that in this holiday season, there is no unnecessary travel, we maintain our bio bubbles and don’t go to big gatherings, concerts and other programmes which are in an area that is closed or not properly ventilated.”
Even those who have completed their vaccination schedule with both doses should celebrate in small groups, choose outdoor venues and keep their masks on, Dr Kataria advised.
Dr Reshma Tewari, chief of the critical care unit at Artemis hospital, said adherence to Covid protocols had become lax over the past few months. “We need to be very careful. Experts, worldwide, expect the third wave will be a short, sharp surge but it would be naive to believe that it is not going to happen,” she said, adding that while the number of Covid admissions at the hospital had dropped drastically over the last few months, two to three patients were coming in regularly now.
Doctors said the high vaccination coverage in Gurgaon and Delhi is reassuring, but irrespective of the degree of immunity this gives people and whether Omicron is likely to cause severe disease or not, there is no room for complacency. “If the spike in cases is sharp, then a small proportion of critical cases may actually be quite high. However, our percentage of the vaccinated population is better. If the third wave comes, it may not be like the second wave. Having said so, it is our responsibility to stop this transmission chain. If anyone has flu-like symptoms, they should be isolated. Those who have not been vaccinated should get jabbed immediately,” Dr Arunesh Kumar, head of pulmonology department at Paras Hospital, said.
Credit Source – https://ift.tt/3JcO9JR

The post Mask up, shun crowds and avoid travel, say doctors appeared first on Stay in Gurgaon.