97 positive in Cachar, positivity rate up to 5.78% higher than state's 3.73%

Not a very happy new year at all. The holidays coupled with the waves of fresh Coronavirus infections is making it worse than it ever was. The pandemic has taken a new turn and clouds of uncertainty are looming large overhead.

As per the information provided by the district health department, on Sunday, 97 individuals have tested positive for COVID19. 57 of them have tested positive on RT-PCR while 40 on RAT kits. After testing 1,677 samples the district has reported a 5.78% positivity rate higher than Assam’s 3.73%.

There is a lot of anxiety among common people if these are Omicron cases. Well, the experts in the country have made it clear that most of the fresh cases detected these days are Omicron cases. On paper, it might not be reflecting the same but that is primarily due to the testing mechanism of Omicron. To detect Omicron, the samples need to undergo genomic sequencing. Not all samples are sent for sequencing, only a few of them are shipped randomly. It takes around 15 days for the centres to send a report on the genomic sequencing of samples. From Cachar, the samples are sent by Silchar Medical College and Hospital to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. From there the samples are shipped to Kalyani, West Bengal. Also, only samples with low CT-Value (25 or lower) are sent so that the scientists can conduct a conclusive study. This is another obstacle in identifying the variant as in this wave, infections are mild and CT-Values are high (25 or higher).

73 COVID positive patients are admitted in various hospitals across Cachar and the district currently has 280 active cases.

Dr. Bhaskar Gupta, vice president of SMCH, informed that 31 patients are in the COVID ward of Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Five of them are on Oxygen support while none are on ventilation which is a positive sign. The variant has so far, reporter mild severity however, the doctors have warned against lowering the guards.

Cases have started to plateau in Mumbai and the growth rate has reduced in Delhi. There are indications that the wave is soon approaching its peak which means, it might not last as long as the earlier two waves did. But, the doctors in Cachar feel, the worse for the district is yet to come but it won’t be as dangerous as the last one.