麻豆社

As India tries to contain the spread of the Omicron variant, medical facilities around the country are bracing themselves for another wave of cases. Over half the adult population are fully vaccinated, but it still leaves hundreds of millions vulnerable to infections.

The 麻豆社's Yogita Limaye reports from the Holy Family Hospital in Delhi, where she speaks to Dr Sumit Ray, who heads the hospital. He explains how the hospital facilities were overrun during the second wave earlier this year and that anticipation is building as more cases of the variant are reported. She also visits the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in the western city of Pune, India's oldest genome sequencing facility, where Dr Varsha Potdar, a senior scientist and group leader, describes the pressure to measure Omicron's progress.

"There is a sense of dread and anxiety building up, that we are going to take the same path as the second wave." Dr Sumit Ray, who runs the Holy Family Hospital in Delhi

Photo: A girl undergoes a nasal test to detect Covid-19 in Bangalore, India, December 2021 Credit: EPA

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