Surge In Covid-19 Cases Indicative of Third Wave but Don't Panic: NK Arora

Dr NK Arora informed that the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus is accounting for over 50 per cent of the fresh cases of the infection in major Indian cities.

Dr N K Arora, the chairman of the Covid-19 working group of the NTAGI, has said that the massive surge in Covid-19 cases over the past one week was indicative of a third wave of the pandemic in the country.

He also informed that the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus is accounting for over 50 per cent of the fresh cases of the infection in major Indian cities.

“The galloping increase in the number of Covid cases over the last one week is indicative of the third wave, as is being seen in several other countries across the globe,” news agency PTI quoted Arora as saying on Tuesday.

Saying there was no need to press the panic button, the doctor reasoned that over 80 per cent of the people in the country have been infected with the virus naturally while more than 90 per cent of the adults have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and over 65 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Pointing out at some epidemiological similarities between South Africa and India, Arora said, “If we look at the behaviour of the Omicron wave in South Africa, where it rapidly increased, in two weeks, the number of cases started coming down and most of the cases were either asymptomatic or had a mild illness, along with the decoupling of the total number of Covid cases vis-a-vis those requiring hospitalisation. All these factors indicate that the Omicron wave in South Africa may soon subside”.

"In view of this, we may see a somewhat similar pattern in India as far as the third wave is concerned.

"Looking at the behaviour of the Covid infection in the last seven to 10 days in India, I feel that we may be in for a third wave peak very soon," he said.

Arora further advised people who are yet to take the vaccine to get themselves jabbed for protection against severe disease and hospitalisation and strictly follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.

India has been reporting a sharp spike in its Covid-19 caseload from the past few days. On Tuesday, the country saw 37,379 cases being logged in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 3,49,60,261, according to Union health ministry's data updated at 8am.

This number of active cases of the infection has climbed to 1,71,830.

So far, as many as 1,892 cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant have been detected across 23 states and Union territories in the country. Of the total cases of the new strain, 766 patients have either recuperated or migrated.

(With agency inputs)