Though its severity is lesser, Omicron variant has the potential to spread the disease 5-6 times more than the Delta variant and so it should not be taken lightly. Every single person should adhere to COVID protocol strictly to keep the pandemic under control, she told reporters here.

Stating that a section of people are spreading lies like Omicron is a "natural vaccine" and so it was not dangerous to contract the infection, she said such campaigns were baseless. Whatever be the variant, the basic characteristics of the novel coronavirus were the same and people should take extra care to keep the disease at bay, the minister said.

"Delta (variant) was the reason for more cases during the second wave. The third wave happened before it was completely over. Now, both Delta and Omicron are contributing to the surge in COVID cases,"?George said. Making it clear that the infectivity was very high these days, she said compared to the second wave, five percent more cases were expected during the third wave.

Stressing the need to follow health protocols without any fail in the present circumstance, the minister said vaccination was a defence against the infection, so everyone should take the jab at the earliest. Officials should take special precaution to avoid cluster formations in their respective institutions.

Urging people to avoid unnecessary hospital visits, she said aged people and those having co-morbidities should take more care. Rubbishing news reports stating that there was scarcity of essential medicines in the state, she said the health department was fully prepared to tackle the situation and the slight rush witnessed by hospitals of late was natural.

There are 3,107 ICU beds in government hospitals across the state while 7,468 are there in private sector health facilities. There are 2,293 ventilator beds in government hospitals and 2,432 in private hospitals, she added. The minister also urged the support of everyone, cutting across political lines and other differences, to deal with the situation and contain the disease effectively.

With inputs from PTI.