While many countries are fearing third wave of the novel coronavirus, German Ambassador to India, Walter J Lindner has cautioned that a fourth wave may arrive as covid numbers of potentially more transmissible and vaccine-resistant variants especially Delta variant.
Walter J Lindner has opined that a rise in such cases which are growing in many countries may cause a fear of fourth wave and could reverse the achieved.
Commenting on easing of travel restrictions, Mr Linder said, lifting restrictions on travel from virus-mutation countries is not easy case to make.
He further said, "We try to find realistic solutions. We see and hear students' plights, who wouldn't understand? But job of virologists & health experts to protect own citizens against next wave."
Meanwhile, ahead of the predicted third wave, AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria warned that if Covid-appropriate behaviour is not followed and crowding not prevented, the next wave of the viral infection can strike the country in the next six to eight weeks. Until a sizeable number of the population are vaccinated, Covid-appropriate behaviour needs to be followed aggressively, he said and stressed on the need for stricter surveillance and area-specific lockdowns in case of a significant surge.
Earlier, India's epidemiologists had indicated that a third wave of COVID-19 is inevitable and is likely to start from September-October. India was hit severely by a brutal second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April and May, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with shortage in oxygen supply at various hospitals adding to the woes.
However, the number of cases have shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several days. From a daily case count of over 4 lakh, the number of new COVID-19 cases has been hovering around 60,000 in the last couple of days.
With 60,753 new Covid cases being reported in a day, India's total tally rose to 2,98,23,546, while the number of active cases stand at 7,60,019, the lowest in 74 days, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.
The death toll climbed to 3,85,137 with 1,647 fresh fatalities and active cases comprise 2.55 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.16 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.
