GUWAHATI: With the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the State, the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam has warned people to look out for the symptoms and get tested immediately. Doctors have also suggested that patients infected with the Omicron variant usually test positive in RT-PCR after 48 hours.
Notably, many people are down with fever and cold in the State, and the authorities have repeatedly been appealing for citizens to be more cautious and get tested.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, body ache, cough, difficulty in breathing, sore throat, nausea, and tiredness.
G Plus spoke to Dr Jitumoni Baishya of Max Hospital, Delhi, who has been actively working at the forefront of the pandemic.
Speaking about the rising cases, especially of the Omicron variant, Dr Baishya said that the immediate symptoms of Omicron are fever, runny nose, and body ache.
"It can be the regular viral fever also, but we advice that the people get tested for COVID-19. What we have found with the Omicron variant is that the infected people are not found to be RT-PCR negative in the first two days. But the symptoms become more prominent and are found to be positive when re-tested after 48 hours," he said.
He informed that as per medical analysis, for the Delta variant, an infected patient was tested negative in about 10 days, but for the Omicron variant patients get RT-PCR negative in just seven days.
"As loss of smell was a prominent symptom for Delta variant, body ache, and sore throat are primary symptoms for the Omicron variant," informed Dr Baishya.
When asked about the current status of the Delta variant, he said that it continues to be prevalent but the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading and has superimposed its predecessor variant.
"As the Omicron variant affects more on the nasal cavity and the upper respiratory tract without reaching the lungs, the affect of receiving less oxygen leading to breathlessness is low," he added.