Many express concerns over Omicron sub-variant BF.7

Visakhapatnam: People, who heaved a sigh of relief when the corona curve flattened over a year ago, are now in the grip of fear in the wake of detection of three cases being confirmed, two in Gujarat and one in the neighbouring Odisha.

With Covid sub-variant BF.7 spreading its tentacles, people express concern over the severity of the infection, extent of transmissibility and the risk factors involved.

The detection of a new variant of Covid BF.7, also known as Omicron Spawn, in Gujarat and the neighbouring Odisha and its widespread in countries like China, US, South Korea, Japan has forced the centre to caution the states to stay on alert.

With this, threat looms all over and the City of Destiny is no exception. After a lull of over a year, those who thought that Covid is over express worry over spread of the infections.

"The masks were kept unused for long. With the surge in Omicron variant in foreign countries, there is a larger scope for the infections arriving in India as well. Already, most of our family members were badly affected with Covid-19 in the first and second waves of the pandemic. We only hope that the sub-lineage of the Omicron variant will not impact us much now," shares R Murali Krishna, who runs an eatery.

Apparently, those who filled their holiday planner seem to be a concerned lot. "We have already made travel plans for the month of January and pre-booked the flight tickets to Delhi. Seriously, we have no clue how the situation would be by then," worries G Anjali, Visakhapatnam-based entrepreneur.

Elaborating about the precautionary measures considered, Visakhapatnam Airport director K Srinivasa Rao says, "We have been continuing with safety protocols followed at the airport such as thermal screening of the travellers, testing those identified with symptoms, informing the authorities concerned in case of any positive case. The samples collected will be sent for genome sequencing. However, further course of action will be decided based on the guidelines we receive." According to state Covid nodal officer K Rambabu, the 'test-trace-treatment' mechanism would be continued. Once the government releases the guidelines, Dr. Ramababu mentions that they will be followed meticulously.