In the midst of an Omicron wave in Kerala, Covid-19 cases tripled in last three weeks but hospital records show that fast infections reduced severity considerably even as the state reported another spike with 54,337 cases on Friday.
A comparison with second and third wave shows ICU and ventilator use dropped by 80 per cent this time. Experts say though Omicron variant spreads fast, its severity is reduced. They attribute low prevalence of severity to improved immunity through vaccination, immunity through infection and booster doses to people with co-morbidity.
“Omicron is less severe because it doesn’t enter lungs and cause pneumonia. And it spreads at a time when people built a strong immunity,” said public health expert Dr N M Arun, adding that though the new variant is hyper-mutant and hyper transmissible, it seems less severe. Data from the health department shows among 333,447 active cases on Friday, 11, 221 who form around four per cent are admitted in various hospitals.
Meanwhile, the state reported 54,337 new cases on Friday with a test positivity rate of 47.05 per cent after 1,15,898 samples were tested, according to the health ministry data. Ernakulam topped the chart with 10,571 cases followed by Thiruvananthapuram district 6735 and Thrissur with 6092 cases. With 13 deaths and unaccounted backlog deaths of 81, total fatalities rose to 52,786.
