After the deadly second wave of the Coronavirus, the third wave has started to engulf the entire world once again. With the new wave, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly with a substantial spike in cases. States like Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan are on red alert as the new variant is gripping people fast. In the second variant Delta, its worse affected lungs the Omicron variant has a different set of symptoms. According to the National World, a new data from the ZOE Covid study app, the omicron virus affects the body differently. The World health organization (WHO) has warned against treating Covid-19 as an endemic illness like flu instead of a pandemic, as the spread of the omicron variant has not yet stabilized.

It has been observed that omicron has no fatal consequences that make people negligent about it. People are not taking it seriously as they think it could be normal flu. They believe that the symptoms could be of weather change leading to simple cough and cold. They are not seeing the doctors or not getting tests done. On top of that, they are going out in public places, markets, and meeting people that have become the cause of the spread of infection. Lack of knowledge on some people’s part is putting other people’s lives at risk. WHO has already said it to be a ‘variant of concern’ as it is becoming the dominant variant.

The symptoms of the new variant omicron may appear like a normal cough and cold but avoiding this may lead to a worse condition. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis, these are the four symptoms. Sore throat- The initial symptom is a sore throat, as people who have caught the infection, complain about scratchy throat at first. Headache- Headache could be the result of other reasons but if it is persistent, people need to get themselves tested immediately. Runny nose- It is a common symptom people experience while other symptoms may also appear. The virus may affect both vaccinated and people who have suffered from covid-19 previously. One symptom that is different in the omicron virus is body pain or people may feel nauseous followed by lower back pain.

In India, Omicron cases are increasing rapidly. In New Delhi, the positivity rate is 25.65 percent, significantly higher than in May last year. Although many patients have been discharged from the hospitals, the number of patients in home isolation has also increased. The recovery rate is 93.70 percent. The containment zone in the city has also increased. In Mumbai on Tuesday, there was a drop in the number of cases since previous days. The government is taking the necessary steps to deal with the situation in different states. Night curfew is on in different states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and New Delhi. The gathering of more than 200 people is prohibited.  In Karnataka, the government has imposed a weekend curfew along with a night curfew. Public places like restaurants, gyms, etc. will work with 50 percent capacity. It has been speculated that the situation might be the decline of the virus but we have to be careful and watch the situation.