The COVID-19 pandemic has not yet reached endemic stage, where the infection is fairly common in the population, as the current highly infectious Omicron variants could still cause fatalities among vulnerable sections with rapid spread. Hence, masks, which are ‘super vaccines’, hand hygiene and indoor ventilation should continue to be the norm, top scientists and public health professionals have cautioned.
"Hyderabad is recording around 20 positive cases a day, but the waste water sampling shows the cases are much more. Just because many people are not falling sick, doesn't mean the virus is not there. It is a hidden enemy," said Tata Institute for Genetics and Society director Rakesh Mishra.
There is likelihood of a more infectious variant emerging as the virus is being challenged with infection- and vaccine-induced immunity, said the former director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.
