Omicron fears Don't panic, follow Covid rules: City doctors

Bengaluru: Allying fears over the detection of two Omicron cases in Bengaluru, city doctors are asking people not to panic, instead follow Covid norms such as wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining physical distance.

"As far as we know, Omicron causes minimal symptoms and the rate of death is quite low. However, we need to be cautious. As far as symptoms are concerned, we are still in the initial stages of understanding the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Maybe in the next few weeks, we will get more details. I feel that the treatment protocol will be more or less the same as in the case of Covid-19 patients. So, until we have more data, let's stop from speculating and stop spreading rumours," Dr Sai Kiran (Consultant, Family Medicine, People Tree Hospital, Yeshwanthpur) said.

He added, "we need to continue to follow the Covid appropriate behaviour including following social distance, using masks and frequent hand washing. Most importantly, we should not forget vaccination. Those who have not gotten vaccines till now, it is time to act."

Dr Rakshay Shetty, Lead Paediatric Intensivist at Rainbow Children's Hospital, Marathalli, said, "It's natural that variants happen over time. Omicron has created more news recently since it has unprecedented mutations noted in any variant until now. This has given it an advantage to rapid spread. Rapid spread doesn't mean it's fatal. It just means that it spreads easily. Current available information doesn't suggest it to be deadly or more dangerous. Since there is a possibility of infecting even vaccinated people, following all Covid related norms makes sense even if vaccinated until there is more clarity."