Omicron becomes dominant coronavirus variant in several Indian cities

New Delhi, Jan 23 (EFE).- Omicron has become the dominant coronavirus variant in a host of Indian cities and is in a stage of community transition, the government said Sunday.

The latest report compiled by the country’s SARS-CoV-2 genomics consortium (INSACOG), which is tied to the science and technology ministry, said that the Omicron variant had driven cases up exponentially in urban areas.

The report added that the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron was a “substantial fraction” of the cases in India.

“Rate of hospitalization during this wave is much lower compared to the previous wave with Delta, attributable to both intrinsically reduced severity with lesser propensity to cause pneumonias, and higher population immunity,” it added.

“However, due to very high number of cases, absolute number of hospitalizations has crossed previous highs in many countries and is creating stress on healthcare systems.”

Having first been detected in India on December 2, Omicron has fueled a surge in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, especially in urban centers like New Delhi and Mumbai.

In the space of a month, the country went from reporting an average of 10,000 cases per day to 333,000 in the previous 24 hours Sunday. EFE

mvg/jt