Are we ready for the looming Omicron crisis?
With Covid-19 case counts rising for over a week, likely fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, the question that we need to ask is: How ready are we for another wave? Given our past experience of handling similar spikes in Covid cases, there is room for both optimism and cynicism. Health officials are confident they can take the looming threat head-on, with a new set of restrictions to be implemented within a week. Harsher restrictions, including lockdown, are on the cards, too, if the situation "goes out of control." Experts, however, believe that the challenge is not so much rolling out new restrictive measures, as making sure that they are executed properly and collaboratively.
Bangladesh may have been able to keep its overall Covid positivity and fatality rates relatively under check, but it owes its "success" less to the pursuit of a scientific solution than to factors that have yet to be fully determined. In any case, there is no doubting the great deal of suffering—personal and collective—caused by the government's poor handling of the Covid crisis in the last two years.
The good news about Omicron is that it may be less severe than other Covid variants. The bad news, as evidenced by case records in other parts of the world, is that it's surging faster, meaning that people remain as vulnerable as ever, and that the pandemic may last longer than expected. Already, several states in India are struggling with soaring cases. In Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, a curfew has been announced. On January 4, Covid-19 cases in India increased by 10.75 percent compared to the previous day. Omicron is feared to be fuelling these infections. This, as one expert told The Daily Star, suggests that we will see a major spike here in the next couple of weeks.
If it does come to pass, we need to prepare in advance not just to curb infections, but to handle the extra load of patients. Urgent measures must be put in place to ensure smooth and uninterrupted supply of oxygen, a key requirement for Covid patients, in hospitals across the country, as well as increasing their seat capacities. A fresh review of the hospitals by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) should help determine their readiness. Also, according to the DGHS, only 31 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated so far. The vaccination drive must be ramped up. More importantly, all the restrictions and health directives being imposed by the authorities must be implemented properly, or they may prove to be ineffective against the virus.
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