No 'Delmicron' Variant Yet; Time To Fight Omicron, Say Health Experts

As of yet, there is no such Covid variant, and there is no information on another mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus after Omicron, which is causing havoc throughout the world.

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New Delhi: As the discussion over a new Coronavirus variant being dubbed as "Delmicron" heats up in India, leading health experts on Saturday warned that people should ignore rumours and wait for global health agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to confirm or deny the presence of such a Covid variant.

Several news sources in India this week mentioned 'Delmicron,' citing Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of Maharashtra's C-19 task team, who said: "Delmicron, the twin spikes of Delta and Omicron in Europe and the United States, has led to a mini-tsunami of cases."

As of yet, there is no such Covid variant, and there is no information on another mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus after Omicron, which is causing havoc throughout the world.

According to Harshal R Salve, Associate Professor at AIIMS New Delhi's Centre for Community Medicine, no such variant exists, IANS reported.

"There is no new Covid virus variant called 'Delmicron' yet," Salve said.

"Omicron is also no new virus as it's a mutated Coronavirus. As per evidence available so far, its infectivity is on the higher side but the symptoms are milder in nature. So there is no need to panic about it," he added.

Omicron Is Gaining Ground In India: Dr Neha Gupta

According to Dr Neha Gupta of Medanta-The Medicity in Gurgaon, Delta is still the most common Covid strain in India, although Omicron is gaining ground.

"As of now, studies have shown that the Omicron variant has a short incubation period of just 3 days as compared to Delta variant where it could be 2-28 days. This implies that the third wave would be of shorter duration and, perhaps, reach a higher peak if Covid-appropriate measures are not followed," she was quoted by IANS in its report.

Omicron Cases In India

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India recorded 415 cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Saturday, up from 358 on Friday, even as many states tightened restrictions to halt its spread.

Maharashtra had the most Omicron instances with 108, followed by Delhi with 79, Gujarat with 43, Telangana with 38, Kerala with 37, Tamil Nadu with 34, and Karnataka with 31.

(With inputs from IANS)