All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria has cautioned people being complacent against Omicron and urged them to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and avoid mass gatherings. The AIIMS chief said the new COVID variant Omicron is highly transmissible and appealed to people to avoid gatherings which can become superspreader events.
Guleria urged people to wear masks, maintain social distancing and follow other guidelines issued by the government in regards to coronavirus. Emphasising the need to aggressively follow COVID appropriate behaviour, the AIIMS director expressed concerns over people not following the protocols.
“It is observed that laxity has crept in among people in observing Covid-appropriate behaviour.
“Omicron is highly transmissible and therefore adhering to Covid norms is very important. People should regularly wear masks, maintain physical distance and avoid gatherings which can become superspreader events,” Guleria said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and health experts across the world have termed the new SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.529 as highly transmissible. The Indian government has said Omicron is three times more transmissible than the Delta variant of coronavirus.
Doctors across the world have maintained that vaccinating against COVID and maintaining social distance, wearing masks is the best possible way to tackle the deadly contagious virus.
The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021 and has spread across 106 countries.
Omicron spreading at unprecedented speed and has already been detected in 106 countries, the WHO informed.
In view of the Omicron threat, the Centre has already sent an advisory to states and Union Territories asking them to implement strategic interventions for containment like imposition of night curfew, strict regulation of large gatherings, curtailing numbers in marriages and funerals besides increasing testing and surveillance.
