Maharashtra warns of COVID spike ahead of festive season, cautions against new Omicron subvariant

Mumbai: The Mumbai civic body on Tuesday issued an advisory urging citizens to adhere to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour during the upcoming festive season to prevent a spike in cases. The Maharashtra health department has cautioned that COVID-19 cases could rise, especially during winter and the festive season, citing new variants like BA.2.3.20 and BQ.1 reported from the state. The metropolis saw an upward trend in daily COVID-19 cases in the second week of October. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked citizens to get vaccinated against the viral infection, if not done so till now and also get booster dose, and wear face masks in crowded places and follow other COVID-19 protocols. In a statement, the BMC said the festival season is a critical period as there may be a tendency to ignore COVID-19 safe behaviour during festivals due to large gatherings, events, fairs and crowds in enclosed and non-ventilated spaces. Diwali and a few other festivals will be celebrated over the next fortnight. The civic body advised citizens to get themselves tested immediately if they develop symptoms of respiratory infection. The importance of early detection is also related to effectiveness of treatment taken. Therefore, the sooner you know you are sick, the easier it will be to determine when you need treatment or hospitalization, the statement said. Asking people to avoid close contact with symptomatic coronavirus patients, the civic body asked them to wash hands frequently, maintain good ventilation indoors, wear face masks at crowded places, cover nose and mouth with handkerchief/tissue paper while sneezing and coughing. Pointing out that daily COVID-19 cases registered an uptick in the financial capital in the second week of October, the civic body said new sub-variants of Omicron – BQ.1 (US variant), BA.2.3.20 apart from XBB, which is a recombinant of BA.2.75 and BJ.1 – have been detected in Maharashtra. These new variants have a growth advantage over other variants of Omicron like BA.2.75 and also immune evasive properties, it stated while advising residents to take precautionary measures to prevent a surge in cases. The advisory said people having difficulty in breathing, immunocompromised patients and those who have recently visited countries where the coronavirus infection is prevalent, should seek immediate medical advice. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.