Spike in cases but majority asymptomatic
GHAZIABAD: The district on Thursday reported 53 fresh cases of Covid-19, the secondhighest single-day spike recorded this year after 61 new cases were reported in the district on February 17. As a result, the positivity rate in the district shot up from 0.37% on Wednesday to 0.44% on Thursday. According to data from the health department, Ghaziabad has reported 221 cases in April so far against a total of 195 cases in March and 1,700 in February. On Thursday, the tally of active cases in the district stood at 139.
Meanwhile, officials of the Uttar Pradesh health department told their Ghaziabad counterparts on Thursday that most Covid-19 cases in national Capital region districts, including Ghaziabad, have been identified to carry a sub-variant of the Omicron virus.
The state government has already directed that samples of patients who test positive for Covid-19 should be sent for genome sequencing to determine which variant of Covid they have contracted. The new XE variant of coronavirus is already leading to a rise in cases in Gujarat and some other states, health officials said.
“During meetings with the state officials, we were told that a sub-variant of Omicron has been detected in some of the cases which emerged in the recent past. About four or five such cases are from our district. This variant is less severe and all the patients in the district are in home isolation and no one is hospitalised. A majority of cases are asymptomatic,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.
The district has been testing about 3,500 samples everyday on average against the target of 7,900 assigned by the state health department.
“Since the present cases are asymptomatic, people are not coming forward for testing. As a result of less severity of infection, all patients who tested positive in April are in home isolation. Schools have also been asked to follow all Covid protocols,” Dr Gupta added.
The recent cases which have surfaced in April include students and teachers from different schools and colleges. According to official records, as many as eight teachers and 58 students have contracted the infection since April 10.
“The severity of infection is less, but it is vital to receive proper treatment. The vaccination process should be expedited and children should also be vaccinated. Patients are mostly asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms. Still, all precautions must be observed,” said Dr VB Jindal, former president of IMA.