Gandhinagar, Jan 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Task Force constituted by the Gujarat government to monitor Covid situation, on Wednesday expressed apprehension that in the third wave the state may witness 50,000 to 1,00000 cases a day by January end or the start of February if Covid protocols are not properly followed.
After Tuesday's spike of over 17,000 cases in Gujarat, Health Minister Hrishikesh Patel met the experts of the Task Force and then addressed the media, appealing to the people not to disregard the threat of Omicron.
Patel said, "The government has continued the current guidelines and right now there's no need to change it, but if circumstances demand, there will be changes."
"We appeal to the people that please register yourself when you get tested positive in a private lab, so that the government gets the correct figures and gauge the situation," added Patel.
The minister also informed that at present the state had a capacity of manufacturing 1500 metric tonne of oxygen, whereas the current daily requirement was 70 metric tonne.
"The eligible people for the second dose have received 9,60,702 doses of the vaccine per 10 lakh people in the state. The state is in a leading position among the large states of the country considering the same," informed the minister.
"It is apprehended that the possible third wave might have its peak effect in Gujarat around January end and February beginning. If people are not careful and cautious, the daily spike can reach up to fifty thousand or even one lakh cases in Gujarat," said Dr V.N. Shah, a member of the task force and the MD of Zydus Hospital, Ahmedabad.
"Around 60 to 70 per cent of Covid cases are of the Omicron variant, which is very infectious and it shouldn't be taken lightly. There is right now no cure for Omicron and drugs effective on previous cases of Corona are reported to be ineffective on it. The unvaccinated persons and children should be very cautious regarding this. And then there's also the Delta variant which damages body organs. So, this is very serious and people should not be negligent," said Dr Sudhir Shah.
As of January 18, a total 4,81,43,082 people above 18 years of age have received the first dose which is equal to 97.6 per cent of the eligible people. Total 4,42,92,717 people above 18 years of age have received the second dose which is equal to 94.6 per cent of the eligible people. Total 23,07,645 teens (64.9 per cent) from the age group of 15 to 17 years have received the first dose. Total 6,70,025 people have received the precaution dose of the vaccine.
Total 9 districts and all the 8 corporations have achieved 100 per cent vaccination of the eligible people with the first dose of the vaccine. Over 35.50 lakh teenagers of 15 to 18 years of age are vaccinated in the state.
Source: IANS
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