'Third wave of Covid-19 may not happen if strong measures are taken'

There may not be a third wave of coronavirus in the country if strong measures are taken and effectively implemented at the state district and citylevel the countrys top scientific officer said on Friday two days after he warned that this wave was inevitableK VijayRaghavan Principal Scientific Adviser said the insidious asymptomatic transmission can be stopped if the guidance about precautions surveillance containment treatment and testing is followedIf we take strong measures the third wave may not happen in all places or indeed anywhere at all It depends on much how effectively guidance is implemented at the local level in the states districts and cities everywhere The guidance is about precautions about surveillance about containment about treatment and about tests This insidious asymptomatic transmission can be stopped if we follow the guidelines This sounds difficult it is difficult and we can and must do it he said in a press briefingOn May 5 VijayRaghavan said as the virus mutates further a third wave of Covid19 infection is inevitable and it is necessary to be prepared for new wavesHe said it was not expected that the second wave would hit the country with such ferocityPhase three is inevitable given the higher levels of circulating virus but it is not clear on what timescale this phase three will occur he had saidResponding to a question on when the second wave which has already infected lakhs and killed thousands will ebb VijayRaghavan said it has already started declining in some placesThe number of cases and the positivity will decline and there will be a lag in hospitalisation and mortality he addedThere are other places of great concern all over the country We must watch out and make sure that we take all steps to reduce and go up to the levels which are difficult to manage he cautionedIn the briefing Additional Secretary in the health ministry Arti Ahuja said the Covid19 case positivity is more than 15 per cent in more than 24 states and union territories including Goa West Bengal Karnataka Delhi Rajasthan Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh while it is between 5 to 15 per cent in nine statesThe case positivity is less than five per cent in three statesIn Goa case positivity is 485 per cent Haryana 361 West Bengal 331 Karnataka Delhi and Rajasthan 299 pc each Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh 279 per cent and Maharashtra 235 per centTwelve states Maharashtra Karnataka Kerala Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh Gujarat Tamil Nadu Chhattisgarh West Bengal Haryana and Bihar have over one lakh active COVID19 cases each at present while the count is between 50000 and one lakh in sevenAhuja said Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Delhi Chhattisgarh Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand are among states and union territories showing continued platelayer or decrease in daily new Covid19 casesHowever Karnataka Kerala West Bengal Tamil Nadu Haryana Bihar Punjab Assam and Odisha are among those showing an upward trend in daily new cases of the infection remains a cause of concern she addedBengaluru Urban and Mysuru Chennai Kozhikode Kottayam Alappuzha Ernakulam Thrissur Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala Gurgaon Patna North 24 Parganas and Kolkata Chittoor Guntur and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh are some of the districts showing continued increase in cases since last two weeks Ahuja saidThere have been peaks and falls in different places in India and all over the world at different times and it is useful to understand how and why the rises of infections take place why the strength varies and how they fall and what can happen subsequently VijayRaghavan saidInfections rise when the virus has the opportunity to infect humans When the virus runs out of opportunities the infection falls he explainedIf the virus runs out of opportunities the people it can potentially infect is lower drastically This happens because people who have been infected earlier are unlikely to be reinfected for a while he saidPeople who are vaccinated those who wear masks maintain distance and isolate themselves from those who are infectious are also protected Without the opportunities of transmission and containment steps the peaks will fallWhen the virus runs out of opportunities it is however not eliminated Therefore if new opportunities are given if new opportunities arise so will the cases New opportunities may arise because virus may find uninfected people who were previously careful and are now lax New opportunities for infection may arise if people become complacent or unprotected assuming the surge is overThe frequency and sizes of such ups and downs must be reduced This is in our hands VijayRaghavan saidSo keep effective distance and ensure adequate ventilation do not crowd indoors or outdoors wear masks appropriate to your occasion he stressedAs the vaccination rolls out and the coverage is maximal each and every measure that is taken can prevent or reduce rises and fall in current locationsThe health ministry has urged states and union territories to prioritise beneficiaries awaiting their second dose of Covid19 vaccine and utilise supplies of vaccines through Government of India channel in 7030 ratio for second dose and first dose respectivelyThe cumulative number of Covid19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached 1650 crore it addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever