Take preventive measures, otherwise Omicron will be catastrophic: Health Officials
Srinagar, Jan 20: Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a steep hike of nearly 98 percent in the daily caseload of COVID-19 in the month of January so far.
From 169 Covid-19 positive cases on January 1 to 5992 on January 20, Jammu and Kashmir has recorded 37371 cases in the last 20 days of January.
On January 1, 169 positive cases were reported, followed by 178 on Jan 2, 199 on January 3, 418 on January 4, 349 on January 5, 542 on January 6, 655 on January 8, 687 on January 9, 706 on January 10, 1148 on January 11, 1695 on January 12, 1966 on January 13, 2456 on January 14, 3251 on January 15, 3499 on January 16, 2827 on January 17, 4651 on January 18, 5818 on January 19 and 5992 on January 20.
Spokesperson, Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, Mir Mushtaq told Rising Kashmir that there has been a spike in Covid positive cases since January 1 and people need to take it seriously.
“People are taking the Omicron variant lightly as they think that this variant has mild symptoms. But it is a Covid variant which is highly infectious with severe symptoms,” he said.
Dr Mushtaq said that people need to take preventive measures, otherwise it will be catastrophic.
“Omicron is spreading like a wildfire. People should not take it lightly and invite the virus to their homes. People should follow guidelines, wear masks, maintain hand hygiene and avoid gatherings,” Dr Mushtaq said.
He said that the cases will further shoot up to the extent where even one percent of the population needs thousands of beds and that would be a huge requirement.
“So, we have to think of different aspects and people need to follow the guidelines to prevent themselves from the spread of this virus,” he added.
Besides, the Health Department has carried out over 22 lakh RT-PCR tests in the valley so far. Out of which 20 lakh tests are routine while over 13 lakh RT-PCR tests were conducted on outside travellers, who visited Kashmir.
Similarly, over 71 lakh Rapid Antigen Tests were also carried by the department. Out of which more than 72 lakh tests were routine and over 13 lakh RAT tests were conducted on outside travellers.
To contain the spread of Omicron variant of the COVID-19, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has declared many areas as containment zones. Besides, weekend lockdown and night curfew has been imposed as well.
