Experts: Rise and fall in cases common when...

A medic collects a swab sample of a passenger, at a railway station, in Bikaner, on Thursday; Pic/ANI

Rise and fall in cases from time to time is a common phenomenon when an infectious disease transitions from pandemic to endemic phase, experts said on Friday as India witnesses an upward trend in COVID-19 infections. India reported a single-day rise of more than 17,000 fresh cases on Friday morning. On Thursday, the Union health ministry added 13,313 infections to the official tally.

India reported a single-day rise of 17,336 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday after a gap of over four months (124 days), recording a 30 per cent jump in daily cases, according to the Union health ministry. The death toll due to the disease climbed to 5,24,954 with 13 new ones. The active caseload increased by 4,294 in a span of of 24 hours.

A teenage boy is jabbed with a dose of Covaxin, in Mumbai. Pic/AFP

Underlining that the current rise in cases is so far limited to certain districts of the country, experts said not wearing masks, increased travel and social interactions and low uptake of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine could possibly be behind the increase. The trend of cases rising repeatedly is a "common phenomenon" when a disease transitions from pandemic to endemic phase, said Dr Sanjay Rai, a senior epidemiologist and the principal investigator of Covaxin trials for both adults and children at AIIMS.

As long as there is no increase in severity or dramatic changes in hospitalisations and deaths, sheer increase in cases is not a cause of concern, he said.

A healthcare worker collects a nasal swab sample of resident for COVID-19 testing, in Gurugram on Friday. Pic/ANI

"Global evidence show that natural infection provides better and longer protection against COVID-19. Also, there has been a high vaccination coverage. Hence, a severe wave in the future is unlikely until a new mutant variant is capable of invading the existing natural immunity and causing severe disease," Dr Rai added.

Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and infectious diseases physician, said SARS-CoV-2 is as much around as it was a few months ago. "Therefore, a rise and fall in the number of infections from time to time is very much expected because that is how infectious and respiratory disease behave. Which is why every rise in cases is not a reason of concern or worry," he said.

17,336
No. of cases recorded on Friday morning

4,33,62,294 Total no. of Coronavirus cases in india so far
5,24,954 Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India so far
88,284 Total no. of active cases in India

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