After a Bengaluru doctor with no travel history tested Covid-19 positive with the new variant of Omicron, the chief of a government-run research institute said the case affirmed that the mutated virus is not coming from abroad but it is already prevalent in the country and likely to be present in all major cities.
However, CSIR-CCMB Director Rakesh Mishra said that Omicron seems to be causing negligible symptoms despite a possibility of community transmission.
Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) is a fundamental life sciences research institute under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an autonomous body under Government of India.
India has so far managed to detect three cases of Omicron. Two, including the Bengaluru doctor, in Karnataka and another in Gujarat, on Saturday.
Mishra told News18 that all cases may not be coming from airports. “It means it’s already here. We must understand that what we detect isn’t the only extent. In fact, most major cities in India, so far, are likely to have this variant.”
Experts have called for extensive screening and genome sequencing to detect the cases of Omicron in the country. A positive aspect, Mishra said, is that despite its potential presence there has been no surge in mortality or hospitalisations due to the virus.
He said the news of the new variant is a wake-up call for Indians to follow Covid-19 protocols like wearing masks and receiving both doses of the vaccine against the virus. "Vaccines are like helmets. Just as helmets don’t prevent an accident, vaccines don’t prevent Covid-19 infections. They both protect us from hospitalisation and death," Mishra said.
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