New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday said there were no indications that Omicron variant XBB.1.16 was leading to severe infection among children, and assured that the government was closely monitoring the situation.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said the government was fully prepared to handle the Covid situation.
Commonly, any illness affects the children and elderly. But there is no information coming in from experts that says that the Omicron XBB.1.16 variant infection is more severe among children.
Also Read: Omicron And Its Sub-Lineages Dominant Coronavirus Variants In India: Centre
“I would advise people with low immunity or those with severe illnesses to avoid crowded places and wear masks. The transmissibility of this variant is high,” he said.
Delhi’s single-day caseload additions on Wednesday breached the 1,000-mark for the first time in over seven months while the positivity rate stood at 23.8 per cent, according to data shared by the Health department.
The national capital logged 1,149 fresh cases and one fatality on Wednesday.
Noting that the cases might be rising, Bharadwaj expressed hope that they will plateau soon.
Also Read: All You Need To Know About Omicron BA.4.6
The government is fully prepared. There are adequate number of oxygen beds, ventilator beds, ICU beds. By the grace of God, we should not require them. The government is closely monitoring the situation, he said.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Education Minister Atishi said the government is reviewing the situation and guidelines for schools will be issued soon, amid a spurt in the cases.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
