On Monday, at least 793 new cases of Covid-19 infections were found in Haryana out of which eight were found to be of the Omicron variant, taking the total number of Omicron variant cases in the state to 71. (File) Haryana’s fresh surge in Covid cases of late, data shows, includes at least 63 cases of Omicron variant that have been detected till January 2 (Sunday). According to the state health department, out of these, at least 58 patients were fully vaccinated, and only five were un-vaccinated.
The 58 who were vaccinated include 32 people from Gurgaon, six each from Faridabad and Karnal, three each from Yamunanagar and Panipat, four in Kurukshetra, two in Hisar and one each in Panchkula and Rohtak.
On Monday, at least 793 new cases of Covid-19 infections were found in Haryana out of which eight were found to be of the Omicron variant, taking the total number of Omicron variant cases in the state to 71.
Talking to The Indian Express, Dr Dhruv Chaudhary, Haryana’s nodal officer for Covid-19, said, “It is nothing unusual. It is the same pattern that we have witnessed in South Africa and subsequently in the United Kingdom. The vaccines that we are using, they give you immunity; but they do not give you sterile immunity. So, the vaccinations do provide a cover and give an immunity boost.
However, if the virus changes its characteristic like Omicron did, it does tend to escape the vaccination induced immunity in certain cases.”
On Monday, Day 1 of the vaccination drive for teenagers between 15-18 years old, more than 54,979 doses were administered till Monday evening.
As far as the health infrastructure in Haryana is concerned, the State has significantly ramped it up in the last one year, officials said.
According to the government data, while there were “nil” oxygen plant (PSA) commissioned in Haryana on January 1, 2021, the number has increased to 84 in government hospitals this year. Likewise, against 679 oxygen concentrators last year, the number has increased to 7219, against 1794 oxygen cylinders (D-type) last year, the number had increased to 4950, and against the 4237 oxygen cylinders in 2021, the number this year stood at 9067.
Currently, there are 25 government Covid-testing laboratories that have a capacity of conducting 34,200 tests per day and 25 Covid-testing laboratories that can test 1,07,450 samples per day.
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