Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Jan 18: Omicron variant known as the most infectious variant of Covid-19 triggering the third wave in J&K is said to have infected large scale of people while experts believe that with Omicron replacing Delta, Covid-19 will not remain a pandemic but an endemic illness.
A Kashmiri doctor Dr Shakeel Ahmad Sofi who is working in Apollo hospital in Kolkata said that though Omicron is spreading at a very fast speed but it isn’t causing so much severity as it is not involving lungs but only upper respiratory tract.
He said that as it is spreading fast but within 4-6 days people come negative as well and 95 to 99 percent of positive patients don’t even need hospitalization as it is behaving like a common flu.
He said that whether a person will be vaccinated or unvaccinated, it is not going to spare anybody but most people won’t even know when they got infected and when they recovered.
“Omicron is so infectious that if a person comes in contact with a positive patient for just 10 to 20 minutes, he will get infected,” he said, adding that fancy masks are of no use and people must use N 95 and surgical masks.
Sofi added that there is no need to isolate for more than three to four days if there are no symptoms and there is no need to go for repeated tests.
He said that with Omicron replacing Delta, it is the beginning and end of pandemic and Covid will become a seasonal flu.
“People should leave fear of Omicron as today or tomorrow you will get infected but it won’t cause any damage,” Sofi said.
Dr Nisar Ul Hasan Flu expert and president of Doctors association Kashmir while talking with KNO said that the replacing of Delta by Omicron has happened to the good of population and it is mild flu and will help everybody to get immunity due to which we may see an end to this pandemic.
“It won’t help in full elimination of the virus but it will end from pandemic stage to endemic and become 5th respiratory virus of the world,” he said.
He said that the third wave is likely to witness a peak next week and by the end of February the wave will be over. (KNO)
