People’s support critical for curtailing further spread of Omicron: WHO

New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday annotated that the overall threat inflicted by Omicron will depend on how individuals assess the risk posed by it, calling on people to strictly follow measures and Covid-Appropriate Behaviour put in place by countries to prevent its spread.

Highlighting that threat posed by COVID variants can be averted by following measures, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region said “The threat from Omicron not only depends on how transmissible the virus is, or severity of the disease it can cause, or its impact on vaccines, but also on how people understand and perceive its risk, and follow control measures, including public health and social measures.”

Wearing a well-fitting mask, observing physical distance, avoiding crowds, ventilating indoor spaces, ensuring hand hygiene and cough etiquettes, getting vaccinated, and continuing following precautions pose vaccination were some of the key preventive and protective measures suggested by Dr Singh.

Further she asked people to ensure successful implementation of the various measures that countries have put in place at national and sub-national levels in view of the ongoing pandemic, the emergence of new variants and the holiday season.

The new variant Omicron has spread rapidly in countries around the globe, even affecting nations with high levels of population immunity. The reason behind rapid spread of the variant remains uncertain and can be attributed to immune evasion or increased transmissibility or a combination of both. There is still limited data on clinical severity of Omicron variant. However, hospitalizations in the nations reporting high numbers of cases- UK and South Africa continue to rise.

Increased social mixing during holiday season and large gatherings may intensify transmission, contributing to a rise in cases. This becomes exponential with a more transmissible variant in circulation, necessitating the need to follow preventive measures.

Rapid increase in case counts risks overwhelming healthcare systems which are already burdened. This can make healthcare services inaccessible for people who need it to save their life for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 health issues.

Asking individuals and countries to combat the pandemic together, Dr Khetrapal Singh said “People’s support is critical to curtailing spread of Omicron, as also the pandemic and has been well demonstrated throughout the course of the pandemic. Countries must continue to engage with communities, share evidence-based information on Omicron and other circulating variants and potential implication for the public in a timely manner, including what is known and what is unknown, and what is being done by authorities.”

Expanding on calls by the WHO Director-General Dr Ghebreyesus to celebrate later and save lives, Dr Khetrapal asked for individuals to take all possible measures to protect themselves and others.