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BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 9. No cases of
infection with the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron variant [of
COVID-19] have been revealed to date in Azerbaijan, expert of the
Health Ministry Tayyar Eyvazov said answering questions about
respiratory viral infections, received by the ministry’s social
media accounts, Trend reports.
According to Eyvazov, when infected with the new subvariant of
the Omicron variant, the disease usually proceeds in a milder
form.
“However, citizens who are at risk (persons who don’t have
stable immunity to coronavirus or with weakened immunity for
various reasons, including persons with severe chronic diseases,
and the aged people) should be especially careful, minimize
contacts as much as possible and undergo full vaccination,” he
explained.
“For almost three years now, the coronavirus infection
(COVID-19) pandemic has been ongoing in the world. Despite a
relative decrease in the number of new infections and deaths in
most countries of the world, international experts believe that the
pandemic is still a global problem,” the expert said. “The main
reason is that the virus is constantly mutating and changing, that
is, it acquires characteristics which are different from previous
variants.”
According to epidemiological patterns, the new variant of the
virus is more tenacious and can spread faster than the previous
ones, Eyvazov noted.
“At the same time, along with the rapid spread of the virus, its
pathogenicity decreases. We clearly see this in the example of the
Omicron variant. However, exceptions are possible, and the once
dominant Delta variant confirms this,” he further said. “Over the
past year, the Omicron variant appeared, and this variant of the
virus spread faster in the above manner, causing a large number of
infections in a short period of time, which led to the formation of
mass immunity.”
Besides, according to the expert, Omicron XBB.1.5 has already
been identified in nearly 30 countries around the world.
Since this is a new variant of coronavirus, the information
available about it is still limited. Although the new subvariant is
able to spread faster than other variants of Omicron, in other
respects it differs little from its predecessors, Eyvazov said.
In order to protect against infection, over the past three
years, behavior in conditions of the spread of coronavirus
infection has been formed among the population, he also
explained.
This behavior includes minimizing contact, wearing a mask in
enclosed spaces and public transport, observing the rules of hand
and respiratory hygiene, regular ventilation of premises, as well
as a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition, the expert noted.
“People wishing to protect themselves and their family members
from respiratory viral infections at home must ensure timely
isolation and treatment of an infected family member. The frequent
airing of rooms and minimizing contact with the infected person is
very important,” Eyvazov stressed.
The expert also recommended completely excluding contact of the
infected person with children, pregnant women, aged people and
people with severe chronic diseases, to regularly disinfect
surfaces that the infected person touches with antiseptic agents,
and if complications occur, it’s necessary to immediately consult a
doctor.
“As mentioned earlier, persons at risk should be under strict
medical supervision from the first day of the disease in order to
timely identify and treat possible complications,” he said.
“Each of us, following these recommendations, can protect
ourselves and our loved ones from these diseases and their
unfavorable course,” Eyvazov concluded.
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