The new variant of the Coronavirus in the form of Omicron is spreading fast all over the world. It has already spread to 77 nations in just 1 week and signs look ominous for all humanity. Though India has administered over 100 crore vaccines, only 27% of the total population is fully vaccinated. There has been a lot of confusion about Omicron. One of its biggest concerns has been its severeness and if it will cause chaos in the same way the delta version of the Coronavirus did in the past.
Now if you collect all the news about Omicron, a few of the facts can be ascertained easily. The first one is about the speed at which this virus spreads. As mentioned earlier, in just 1 week, the virus has spread to 77 countries and researchers have pointed out that it could accelerate 70 times faster than the Delta version. The signs are menacing, and it seems that this version is more lethal, and is going to cause havoc all around the globe.
In India, there have been 73 confirmed cases of Omicron till 15th December 2021. The state machinery of Mumbai has already announced section 144 in the entire city till December 31st citing the danger Omicron presents. The state government is wary of this new threat and does not want to create a situation where health services get overburdened. Moreover, only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to use public transport. Other cities and states are expected to follow the trend.
Why Omicron Presents A Ray Of Hope For The World
Many experts have given statements where they have highlighted that ‘Omicron’ might present the opportunity for the world to come out of the stage of pandemic and enter the stage of endemic. Before we get into more details about the reason for this belief, one must know the difference between pandemic and epidemic.
Pandemic – It happens when a disease circulates to several countries or continents.
Endemic– A situation in which a disease unexpectedly breaks out in a particular geographical area only
With the severe and overwhelming spread of Coronavirus, India had announced its first lockdown in March 2020. We are about to enter 2022 and the whole world is still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. This shows that the world is eager to come out of the pandemic situation.
Now let us discuss why so many experts are saying that Omicron could prove to be a boon eventually. The early analysis shows that fewer people are becoming severely affected, and even though the younger people are getting affected, most of them are experiencing mild symptoms. Scientists hope that spread of the virus may replace the already spreading deadlier Delta version of the COVID-19. It is also believed that with time COVID-19 variants will start behaving like other common flu viruses, and with the emergence of Omicron this could start among people all over the globe.
Why It Is too Early To Pass On Any Kind Of Judgement
Some researchers still believe that it is too early to make any kind of assumptions about the Omicron variant. The reason is that a major portion of the population where this variant is spreading has got the support of vaccination. Since a large part of the affected people belongs to younger age, the impact is proving to be a little less.
Hence, all nations should stay on their toes at all times and take all the necessary steps to prevent the spread of Omicron and not get caught up in the false hope that the world will be out of pandemic in a short period. While they may get a breather, COVID-19 is still far from being defeated.
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