M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Nov 30: WHO’s surveillance medical officer, Dr Mirtunjay Singh, has urged people to start wearing masks again. He said two out of hundred people now bother to wear masks while the 98 just roam around without it.
“This is very undesirable and hazardous for the health at a time when the world has again shaken with a new variant of Sars Covid-19, the Omicron,” the WHO official said.
Dr Mirtunjay Singh is a Gumla based WHO surveillance medical officer and has been given the additional charge of Palamu following the transfer of Dr Valema Deogam.
“We have a long and porous border with Nepal and Bangladesh. no one knows if anyone comes to India through these two nations having travel history of such countries where Omicron has struck,” he added.
He said the VIP tag and social influence help many to skip the test which is to be contained and anyone having a foreign travel history must offer himself for the genome sequencing.
Asked that conflicting versions come about this new mutant, Singh said there is one version that says it is mild but the other version is that it is a fast spreader. There is no concrete data available that fully vaccinated people will be safer from this variant than those who are inadequately vaccinated.
He appealed that all eligibles to take the jab without any delay as test and vaccination are the only tools to fight Covid.
Palamu district epidemiologist Dr Anup Kr Singh informed that till November 29 Palamu administration has tested 7, 54,201 people with an average of 1,000 tests a day. About the positivity rate Dr Anup said it is 1.63 percent.
However, Dr Anup also said it is high time that people come forward for tests even on the slightest of the doubt of it.
