"Omicron spreads fast but causes very mild disease," Yogi Adityanath said. (File photo)
The Omicron variant is spreading fast but causes "very mild disease like viral fever", Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today, urging people not to panic amid reports that the new variant of coronavirus will trigger a third wave.
"Omicron spreads fast but causes very mild disease. The virus has weakened. It is like viral fever but precautions are necessary. However, there is no need to panic," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He said it has been seen that the omicron is not as lethal as the Delta variant and added that infected patients are getting fully cured of the omicron variant in 4-5 days.
"During the Delta variant that was prevalent during March-April, it was seen that people were taking 15-25 days to recover. Covid complications were also reported in patients. However, this is not the case with Omicron," he said.
Eight people have been infected with the Omicron variant in Uttar Pradesh since the first case was reported in the country in late November, according to the Health Ministry. Of these four people have recovered, as per the data.
This morning, Uttar Pradesh added 552 fresh Covid cases to take its overall tally to over 17 lakh. 22, 916 people have died due to Covid-related complications so far.
Uttar Pradesh is among the five states where elections will take place despite surge in Covid cases, including that of the Omicron variant.
Rampant violations of Covid restrictions have been reported at the political campaigns and rallies in the state, as parties like the BJP, Congress and regional players like Samajwadi Party and BSP compete for power in the politically important state.
All political parties in Uttar Pradesh had called for the elections to be held on time with observance of Covid protocol during a meeting, the Election Commission had said, clearing the air that the polls will be held amid a spike in new infections.
Around 50 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated in Uttar Pradesh, which was one of the states hit worst during the second wave of the virus.