Omicron scare: Industrialist Harsh Goenka on Sunday shared some encouraging data on Omicron variant of coronavirus, which was first detected in Africa. The number of confirmed Covid cases in Africa had reached over 9 lakh as of late Saturday evening, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) said the death toll across the continent stood at 225,890.
Today, Goenka shared some data that suggested Omicron caused “very mild illness” and “fewer hospital admissions”.
“Good news coming from South Africa #Omicron . Data suggests all good signs. Very mild illness, fewer hospital admissions, lesser needed oxygen and that too the non-vaccinated majority. That doesn’t mean we lessen our guards, but that we do not panic,” Goenka said while sharing an article titled “Gauteng’s hospital data on Omicron now too good to ignore”.
The article says that the rapid increase in Omicron cases has not transferred proportionally into hospitalisations and deaths. Although hospital admissions are starting to rise slighty, it added, they’re much smaller than what has been seen in previous waves.
“The same goes for mortality rates. They are flat when compared to the past three surges of COVID. Gauteng is starting to see a decrease in cases now, too – meaning hospitalisations will soon peak here, too,” it states.
It further says that the average stay in hospital for patients is now down to ‘three or four days’ – half of what was seen during the Delta wave.
First detected in South Africa, Omicron has now spread in nearly 90 countries.
India has so far reported 145 cases. The cases have been detected in 11 states and union territories — Maharashtra (48), Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17) and Karnataka (14), Telangana (20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).
