Omicron New Variant: Is It Safe To Travel For Holidays With Your Child?

When everyone across the globe geared up to celebrate Christmas and New Year, China showed a massive surge due to the new sub-variant of Omicron, BF.7. Fear and anxiety have taken a reverse gear, causing alarm globally. Having stuck around the globe since late 2019, the COVID virus has caused waves of infections with new variants, making it the worst pandemic ever. COVID virus has caused millions of deaths, even a small piece of news or one reported case can make people jittery. COVID virus has never welcomed any Christmas or New Year and it looks like it will again steal this holiday season too. 

India has reported 4 cases of BF.7 variants also called Omicron Spawn.  Three cases have been reported from Gujrat and 1 from Odisha.  But before we go ahead let us understand what BF.7 variant is and how severe it will be in India. 

What is Omicron BF.7 Variant? 

The BF.7 variant is a subvariant of the BA.5 highly transmissible subvariant of Omicron. This new variant is highly transmissible and can cause reinfection even among those who are vaccinated, making it the strongest infection among all other Coronavirus variants. 

Symptoms of Omicron BF.7 Variant

• Fever

• Cough

• Sore Throat

• Running Nose

• Fatigue

• Body Pain

A person infected with BF.7 variant can transmit the virus to another 10-18 people even if he or she is asymptomatic. People with weak immunity such as senior citizens and children are at risk of getting it. 

Identified as the highly transmissible and the most deadly virus among all the variants, BF.7 is spreading super fast. People traveling across the world at this point have a high possibility of getting infected and later spreading it. The ongoing cases in Beijing have already caused warming for several countries, including India too. 

Health experts offered the following advice.

• Unvaccinated individuals should not travel. 

• Families traveling with unvaccinated children should avoid traveling. 

• Unvaccinated people who are traveling should get tested before and after the trip. 

Is it safe to travel for holidays with your child? 

The unexpected rise of the new variant in China has sent tremors across the country. But this is not the first time. COVID -19 has affected travel plans for years now. Many families have still not gone out of their cities. Finally, when life was getting back to normal, cases were dipping and everything seemed to be on the right track, the new Variant BF.7 once again created havoc. The new Omicron wave may look moderate but is spreading rapidly. Children with developing gut and weak immune systems have a higher risk of getting infected. So, how can you plan your travel safely with your child? 

6 things to keep in mind while traveling with your child

The massive decrease in COVID cases has created hope for us. Every individual, and family has some plans for this holiday season, this includes traveling too. But is it safe to travel with a baby?

1. Stay away from the high-risk areas: Before traveling with your baby, make sure the place that you are going is risk-free and no new or recent case has been reported in that area. Choose a less crowded place and make sure the state or the country you are visiting is following all the protocols. 

2.  Plan well in advance - Before traveling, prepare a checklist of the items you need for your baby such as their medicines, food, sanitize bottles,  masks, and other important items. Keeping everything will minimize your stops and you and your child will come less in contact with the people. 

3. Pick an ideal mode of transport - We must choose the right mode of travel especially when you are traveling with your child. You should avoid taking public transport and it’s best if you can have or hire your vehicle. 

4. Mask is important - Although we have fewer cases in India, it is advisable to wear a mask when you are stepping out with your children. 

5. Always carry a sanitizer - The first thing as a parent that you need to keep in your bags is hand sanitizer. Before they eat, make sure you sanitize their hands and yours too. 

So far the situation is under control. There is nothing to panic about. You can happily plan your trips just make sure you follow all the guidelines and do speak to your doctor if required.