Tag: Omicron

School reopened in Delhi on Saturday (Dec 18) after the state govt’s announced closure due to air pollution. Students share their views on online & offline mode of teaching.

Amidst the threat of the new Covid-19 variant ‘Omicron’, the Odisha Public Health Director, Niranjan Mishra on Saturday (Dec 18), warned regarding the definite possibility of a third wave in the state.

Odisha government on Wednesday (Dec 15) ordered to conduct exams for all Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) students in the state in the offline mode. However, citing the rise in cases of the new Covid-19 variant ‘Omicron’ in the country, several students reportedly opposed the decision while seeking the option of having online exams.

Currently, the WHO recommends administering a third dose of any WHO-approved vaccine to those who are immunocompromised. It has also recommended a booster for recipients of the Chinese vaccines who are older than 60, where supplies allow.

The possibilities of 3rd wave can't be ruled out with the rising threats of the new COVID variant- Omicron. All are in a state of confusion over the preparatory measures of the State government to tackle the possible onslaught. The government might have to face immense challenges while ensuring the conduct of COVID infection-free exams.

Hyper mutated Omicron Covid-19 variant infects and multiplies 70 times faster than the Delta variant, according to University of Hong Kong (HKUMed).

However, some of the employees have been selected for attending the immediate and urgent nature of official work. The employees selected for the same will attend the official works as per the roaster arrangements.

The Omicron variant is five times more transmissible than the Delta variant and has spread its tentacles around 70 countries. This information was shared by Odisha’s Public Health director Niranjan Mishra.

In contrast, the Omicron variant replicated less efficiently (more than 10 times lower) in the human lung tissue than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, which may suggest lower severity of disease.

Odisha districts sharing their borders with Andhra Pradesh are on focus since the neighbouring state has already reported an Omicron case.

WHO Director General Tedros A. Ghebreyesus said that a total of 77 countries have reported Omicron cases so far but the reality is that this variant is probably yet to be detected in some countries.

While current Covid-19 vaccines use genes taken from the virus spike protein to encode antigens, which causes the immune system to produce antibodies, the new vaccine uses predictive methods to mimic the wider family of coronavirus antigens that researchers hope will give more protection.

It is expected that a large number of people working in Andhra Pradesh will return to Gajapati district this month due to the Omicron scare.

Amidst the scare of the new Covid-19 variant ‘Omicron’, Odisha Health & Family Welfare Director, Bijay Panigrahi on Tuesday (Dec 14), requested all beneficiaries who are yet to receive their first dose of the vaccine to get the shot as soon as possible.

"Out of total 38 admitted in the hospital, 35 have tested positive for Covid and five of these Omicron positive and three are suspected."