Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) and General Practitioner for 33 years has warned the world community against unnecessary panicking over the spread of Omicron mutant variant of Covid-19. She has called upon the affected nations to lay emphasis on adhering to Covid-19 guidelines rather than enforcing restrictions to combat the pandemic menace.
In a telephonic interview, Dr Angelique Coetzee cautioned governments against announcing a series of curbs over the movement of people. Instead, they should not close the country borders, make elaborate arrangements to increase testing’s, wear masks, keep sanitizing, maintain hygiene, social distancing and get vaccinated, booster dose, she stressed.
First Physician to spot the SARS-Cov-2 Omicron variant: Now it’s a well-known fact that Dr Angelique Coetzee was the first physician to spot the SARS-Cov-2 Omicron variant of Covid-19. She is the chairperson of the South African medical association (SAMA), a Union organization for medical practitioners who advises the South African Department of Health. She works as a general practitioner in Pretoria and is a Professor in the Department of Medical Virology and heads the Zoonotic Arbo and Respiratory Virus, Centre for Viral Zoonoses (CoVZ), at the University of Pretoria (UP).
Vaccinations alone no guarantee of safe being: When inquired about the piquant situation of two Bengaluru based doctors having had both doses of vaccination having no international travel history contracting Omicron, Dr Angelique Coetzee maintained: “Omicron is a fast-spreading virus infecting the person. Vaccinations are a precaution against hospitalization and ensure that the viral load is under check. Since it is a new variant vaccinated people can still get infected. But unvaccinated people will suffer a lot”.
Symptoms vary but adverse effects-heavy: She tries to make a point about the infections among people vaccinated and unvaccinated: “There is a less than a surge like situation among all those vaccinated while it is the other way around among all those unvaccinated. The unvaccinated people get terribly tired, develop a body ache and headache while all such symptoms are of less intensity among the vaccinated persons”.
Next three weeks a flutter: Dr Angelique Coetzee has a word of caution: “Omicron being a fast-spreading virus it is most likely the pandemic will see a sort of flutter in the next couple of weeks and is expected to recede probably after three weeks or so…
…People should show to the doctor if they develop symptoms like sneezing, cold, headache, get vaccinated and have a booster dose to ensure nothing goes wrong. People should rigidly follow Covid-19 guidelines to take care of themselves”, she felt.
A slight dip in the numbers: According to Dr Angelique Coetzee, “Republic of South Africa saw a dip in the numbers yesterday. 16, 366 people tested positive while 16,000 cases were reported the previous day. Maybe, due to being weekend 68, 703 people came for testing and 21 deaths occurred”.
30, 20,569 cases in the country: Dr Angelique Coetzee shared the statistics regarding the surge in the pandemic: “A total number of 30, 20, 569 people have tested positive so far in the country but as of now the number of active cases is 75,130 along with 16,366 fresh ones. The number of people becoming victims has risen to 89, 965 while 28, 55, 474 people have been recovered…
…so far 19, 715, 126 tests people have been tested while 68, 703 got the test done yesterday with a positivity rate of 23. 8 per cent”, she informed.
42.84 percentage vaccination: “Out of the total population and people above 18 years, 39, 798, 201 have been vaccinated while 14, 750, 873 have been fully vaccinated with both the doses which mean coverage of 42.84 per cent of the population. Among the young people within the bracket of 12-17 years, 5, 85, 436 have received the vaccination. Apart from the initial two doses, 1, 83,539 people have been given the Covid-19 Sisonke booster dose”, she told.
Infuse positivity and not madness: Dr Angelique Coetzee was averse to the idea of creating clusters for Omicron patients. On the other hand, she felt that the Governments should infuse positivity, stop the madness and avoid scaring people.
Avoid mass gatherings: When asked about the ensuing Christmas festival and New Year celebrations on the way and the challenges entangled with the same, she was categorical: “My advice is avoid gatherings, wear masks and get vaccinated”.
-Manohar Yadavatti
One should continue to be following all safety guidelines practiced in 2020 and 2021. Still there is no clear information whether the existing vaccine will protect against Omicron, therefore we must follow social distancing, wear mask and avoid crowds.
ReplyDeleteVery sane advise. The new variant Omicron is very infectious but very much less virulent. As the virus mutates it's virulence becomes attenuated. What we need to do is instead of panicking follow all covid protocols. More number of people should get vaccinated. This is not the time for letting down our caution. Dr. Coetzee has brought out the point very well
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