Journalism of Courage
Assuring that there would be no immediate restriction in Pune city due to the detection of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) mayor Mulridhar Mohol has appealed to citizens not to believe in rumours as the situation is âwell in controlâ of the civic body.
âThere is panic among the public after a patient infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was identified in the city. There is no reason to get worried. The Omicron-infected patientâs housing society is in the heart of the city and has 13 families. All the residents of the building are being tested. The infected patient has no symptoms and has been kept in institutional quarantine as per the guidelines,â Mohol said.
âThere will be rumours but be aware of the facts. Citizens should help in checking rumours. The PMC has the authority to reveal information,â he added.
The PMC is tracing all those who returned from abroad in the last month. âThe PMC has a list of 370 citizens who returned from abroad in November. Their 15-day movements are being tracked. We have reached out to 335 people and RT-PCR tests of 270 have been done so far. The tests of the remaining are being done. Only one person is found infected with Covid-19,â Mohol said.
All the Covid-19 patients infected with Omicron variant in the district are in good health and not facing serious health issues, he said. âPeople are worried about another lockdown. The situation is under control and there is not going to be a lockdown or additional restriction immediately. There will be a review meeting over the weekend,â he said.
âWe have experience of handling two Covid waves in the past. The Infrastructure is ready. All PMC hospitals are ready and 14 Oxygen generation plants are ready. The jumbo hospital can be started in four days. Private hospitalsâ coordination is good,â he added.
The mayor said that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination have been proven âVaccinated citizens donât have serious health issues even if they get Covid. The city has a good vaccination record with around 56 lakh doses administered so far; 33 lakh people have got at least one dose and 23 lakh have got both doses. The PMC is presently administering 25,000 doses daily. Those who are yet to get vaccinated should immediately take it. Also, everyone should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour,â he said.
