On Wednesday, the number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai nearly quadrupled in less than 24 hours, from 1,333 to 2,445, signalling the possibility of a third wave. The Maharashtra Covid-19 Task Force ascribed the unexpected increase in cases across Maharashtra to the detection of 38 samples of the Omicron variant from the state’s community surveillance pool. On Wednesday, Mumbai recorded 2,445 Covid-19 instances, the largest single-day increase in 235 days, when 2,664 cases were reported on May 18. On Wednesday, the city saw an 83.4 percent increase in cases compared to Tuesday. Similarly, in Maharashtra, the number of cases increased by 79.5 percent in the previous 24 hours, from 2,172 to 3,900, the largest one-day increase since September 10.
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Officials from the state task force speculated that this abrupt surge signalled the start of the third wave, in which Omicron will triumph over the already dominant Delta variety. “The third wave has arrived, and we can safely declare that Omicron has arrived in the community.” The doubling rate has decreased to less than one day in recent days, and multiple clustered transmissions have been observed, indicating the existence of Omicron,” stated task force member Dr Shashank Joshi.
This allegation is supported by the latest findings of the Institute of Science Education and Research’s (IISER) community surveillance, which revealed that 38 samples tested positive for Omicron, indicating that the variation may have spread across the population. “Omicron has been found in 38 of the 380 samples sequenced so far,” stated an official from IISER. 300 samples from Mumbai and 100 samples from Pune are sent for community monitoring on a daily basis.
Dr. Pradip Awate, the state surveillance officer, said it would be “too abrupt” to affirm that the spread of Omicron at the community level is contributing to the third wave until each of the 38 patients is studied. “As a result, we’ll have to look into each of these patients individually to see if they went outdoors or unintentionally got into contact with an index patient,” Dr. Awate explained.
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In total, the state has recorded 252 Omicron instances, with 99 patients being released. The total number of current cases in the state is 14,065, including 8,060 from Mumbai and 2,053 from Pune. However, the majority of new patients are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, requiring only brief hospitalisation. “Because Omicron’s transmission rate is substantially higher than Delta’s, the state will soon be flooded with cases,” Dr Joshi added. However, when compared to the Delta infection, which is a more lethal illness, the hospitalisation rate would be reduced. Omicron will replace Delta in 80-90 percent of patients in a matter of weeks.” “We feel this will herald the end of the ‘endemic,’ since the Delta variation will be replaced,” he continued. The potential of a new lockdown in the state, according to Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope, would emerge if daily oxygen demand topped 800 metric tonnes.
