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NITI Aayog Member-Health Dr. VK Paul interacted with the press today to reveal about the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country. He said that the Omicron variant is not a common cold and it is everyone's responsibility to stay away from public gatherings to prevent the transmission of the variant. He urged everyone to get vaccinated at the earliest to stay safe from hospitalization and this is a critical move to break the chain of the spread of coronavirus. "Let us mask up and get vaccinated which is overdue. The vaccinations are helpful to a large extent. The process of vaccination happens to be a critical pillar for the Covid-19 response" told VK Paul.

He also said that the overuse of drugs should be prevented in the case of coronavirus. Have warm water, do gargles in home care told VK Paul. He said that there should be a rational approach for the use of medicines. Do not misuse the drugs. The Union Health Ministry also revised the discharge policy of the patients who are admitted to hospitals after getting contracted to coronavirus. They are categorized into patients with mild and moderate symptoms. The policy has been revised after the meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All those with mild symptoms can be discharged seven days after they are tested positive for Covid-19. There is no testing needed before discharge told Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary for the Union Health Ministry.

By Siva Kumar