WHO has announced the arrival of the third wave of the pandemic this week. Latest projections say the wave may hit India between August and October. The government has said the next 2-3 months will be crucial.
The World Health Organization this week has set the alarm bells ringing as it said that the world is at the very advanced stages of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. This wave is mostly being driven by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, first reported in India. WHO’s warning is a red flag for India as well, the Union health ministry has said this week as the fall in the Covid-19 cases in India has slowed down. In India, the Covid-19 situation remains worrisome in some pockets, including some districts in Maharashtra, Kerala and the northeast.
Govt says next 2-3 months crucial
Has the third wave in India set in? Niti Aayog member (health) VK Paul said this week that the present situation in India is under control. But India is far from achieving herd immunity either through vaccination or through natural infection. Hence, the risk remains. The next few months will be very crucial, the government has said.
‘Third wave arrived on July 4’
University of Hyderabad pro-vice-chancellor physicist Dr Vipin Srivastava has recently said that the third wave in India has already arrived on July 4. He said July 4 recorded a similar trend like what the first week of February (the beginning of the 2nd wave) saw.
ICMR on third wave
The third wave may hit the nation by August-end, but it will be of less intensity than the second wave. Head of epidemiology and infectious diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr Samiran Panda has said that the third wave is not inevitable.
Economists’ reports on the third wave
UBS Securities India has said the risks of a third wave look real because of the increased presence of the Delta variant and the pace of vaccination.
SBI Research in its report prepared early this month said India may witness the third wave of the pandemic by the second fortnight of August.
