As the COVID surge continues in India, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria has told The Indian Express that the Omicron variant mainly affects the upper respiratory tract and airways, and people without comorbidities should not panic and should not block the hospital beds.

He emphasized that the focus should be on home isolation as the recovery time for the new variant is much faster. He said that with Omicron, there are fewer patients with a fall in oxygen saturation or other severe symptoms that were seen in Delta variant. There is more of fever, running nose, sore throat, and body ache and headache with Omicron variant. He added that if any of these symptoms persist, people should come forward and get tested. This way, they can isolate themselves and prevent the spread of infection to other people in the community.

Dr Guleria also said that hospital beds should be left vacant for the more vulnerable population, which is at risk of severe disease… (The Indian Express, January 1, 2022)