Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, who is freshly recovered from the virus infection, says a third wave of Covid-19 is imminent. However, he noted, it could not be determined whether or not this wave would be as strong as or weaker than the ongoing second wave currently ravaging the country.
Aaditya’s statement came a day after his father and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged industry representatives to be ready for a third wave of corona and prepare Covid-19 compatible work procedure.
On Sunday, Aaditya said even if vaccination didn't help right away, it would help prepare for the future. “Every decision the state is taking today is based on the advice of the Covid taskforce we created last year and as per science and medical facts, not by politics.” He further said that the state government was of the view that under-reporting would not help. “Now we are preparing for the third wave. We have five lakh beds, 70 per cent of them oxygenated," he added.
His comments come on a day when a record 68,631 new cases and 503 deaths were reported on Sunday in Maharashtra. The total number of progressive cases is at 38,39,338, recoveries are 31,06,828, active cases are 6,70,388 and the number of deaths are 60,473. The state government has projected that the active caseload may rise to 11 lakh by the end of April.
Despite the present surge in cases, Aaditya called upon the people of state to not panic, since all facilities are on edge in this pandemic. The disease itself has mutated and become more complicated over the last few months. He urged the citizens not to take their own wrong decisions but let the doctors and scientists take the call on the matter.
Computer-generated models project that the virus transmission chain could be broken in 10-15 days, he said. However, these calculations come with a rider connected to human behaviour, he explained.
On migrant workers leaving for their home states during the mini lockdown, Aaditya said they were better off this time, as there was no panic yet.
