Estimates of 16 lakh cases coming daily at the peak of third wave, 40 thousand hospitalizations every day

Omicron's entry in India took place on 2nd December and within a month, the cases have increased to more than 1700. Due to this, the rate of corona infection in the country has increased almost three times in a week.

The matter of concern about Omicron is that it is spreading rapidly but people infected with it have less severe symptoms. Although the severe symptoms may be less, but the high number of patients is an alarm bell for us. According to estimates, 40-60 thousand patients may need to be hospitalized during the peak of the third wave. This can create a new challenge for our health infrastructure.

There is one good and one bad thing about Omicron. The good thing is that most of the patients infected with it do not have serious symptoms. The bad thing is that Omicron is spreading 4-5 times faster than Delta. If we compare Omicron with Delta, then at the peak of the third wave, up to 16-20 lakh new cases can come in a day. The thing to understand for us is that even though severe symptoms may be less in patients, but the number of patients is also a matter of concern in itself.