‘No need to worry’, says ex-AIIMS chief amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Former chief of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Dr. Randeep Guleria stated that the new XBB.1.16 variant could have led to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. He also said that there is no need to panic or worry if no severe illnesses or deaths are being reported. Calling XBB.1.16 variant a “new kid on the block”, Dr. Guleria said that new variants of COVID-19 will keep coming as the virus keeps mutating further. 

Dr. Guleria, who was also a part of the national COVID-19 task force told the news agency PTI in an interview, "... As long as they don't lead to severe illness, hospitalisation, and deaths, it is alright because it helps in giving some degree of immunity to the population if they have mild illness." 

Commenting on whether XBB.1.16 variant has a potential to unleash a fresh COVID-19 wave over the next few days, Guleria said there might be a surge in cases. He, however, added that cases might also be underreported since people are concerned and would get themselves tested. 

The former national COVID-19 task force member said most people don’t get themselves tested even if they have flu-like symptoms. He added that while some use rapid antigen tests, they do not report even if their COVID-19 test is positive. 

“Now even if they have flu-like symptoms, most people don’t get themselves tested. Some use the rapid antigen test, and even if they are positive they do not report it. So the number we are actually reporting may be less than the actual number in the community,” Dr Guleria underlined. 

He also said that those who test positive should report it since it helps the government and policymakers track the actual number of cases and plan a strategy. He further said even if there is a surge, there is no need to panic till it does not lead to hospitalisations and deaths. 

He further added the virus evolves over time in case of both COVID and influenza, also known as antigenic drift. He said that the COVID outbreak started off with Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants. 

Dr Guleria explained, "So the virus kept on changing. Luckily, if we look at what has happened in the last one year, we have got variants which are basically sub-lineages of Omicron only. So it seems the virus has stabilized a little bit, it is not changing as rapidly as it was in the past."

Meanwhile, India’s current COVID-19 caseload stands at 7,605 as of Thursday, with 1,300 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.  Total recoveries reached 4,41,60,997, with 718 recoveries being reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

(With PTI inputs)

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