This story is from October 26, 2021

Covid-19: Delhi doctors wary of case spike overwhelming medical infrastructure

Low incidence of Covid-19 has made people more confident. They are going out, meeting people and shopping. It’s good. What is bad is the lack of adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour.
Covid-19: Delhi doctors wary of case spike overwhelming medical infrastructure
Picture used for representational purpose only
NEW DELHI: Low incidence of Covid-19 has made people more confident. They are going out, meeting people and shopping. It’s good. What is bad is the lack of adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour.
Public health experts are alarmed at the level of complacency being seen in the public, most of whom are venturing out with little or no concern about maintaining social distance and often without wearing masks properly.

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“Our fever OPD is running full. Over the past two weeks, we have been getting 200-250 cases of febrile illness daily. Most of them are caused by vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria. If the Covid-19 cases also start to surge, the situation would become unmanageable,” said Dr Suresh Kumar, director of Lok Nayak Hospital. He stressed on the need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and full vaccination against the viral infection.
Dr HS Chhabra, medical director of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, said with the festive season beginning last month, there had been a relative increase in the number of people showing Covid-19 symptoms. “This is an additional cause for concern since dengue cases are also on rise. Covid-19 cases are on the rise in China, Russia and the UK. This is no time to let our guard down. We urge people to continue to remain vigilant and follow all Covid protocols,” he added.

The founder of Genestrings Diagnostic, Dr Gauri Agarwal, said the virus would continue to mutate and survive. “With vaccines, we have a means to prevent the infection. It’s very positive that we recently completed the vaccination of 100 crore people. But a lot of people are just vaccinated with only one dose and unvaccinated elderly and children are still at risk,” she added.
Dr Shashank Joshi, endocrinologist and member, Maharashtra Covid-19 Task Force, also warned against any complacency. “It is still mandatory to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour with double masking, very strong surveillance, including self-testing and prompt isolation and contact tracing. Particularly with the return-to-the-workplace trend and more so the upcoming festive season, it is essential to stay vigilant and get ahead of worrying Covid-19 trends. Central to this are vaccination, timely disease detection, and sustained Covid-appropriate behaviour and precautions,” he added.
Highlighting the identification of delta strain derivatives worldwide, including a new mutation called AY4.2 in the UK, Joshi said it had been seen in India too.
Delhi witnessed a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in April and May, which led to the loss of more than 13,000 lives. On May 3, 448 fatalities were recorded, the highest in a single day since the outbreak. “The second wave sent shudders down everyone’s spine. If we really don’t want to see a repeat of that nightmare, then the least we can do is wear a mask properly,” said Gaurav Thukral, COO of Healthcare at Home.
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