The second COVID wave seems more dangerous
Vinod C. Dixit
In his address during the meeting, PM Modi pointed out that “A challenging situation is emerging again and the country has already crossed the time of peak of the first wave. The growth rate this time is faster than the first wave.”
Interacting with the Chief Ministers of various states on COVID-19 situation he expressed that more than 96% of the cases in India have recovered and India is having one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. He also expressed his concern about the high test positivity rate in Maharashtra and MP and rising cases in Punjab and Maharashtra. From his deep heart he urged to stop this emerging “second peak” of Corona immediately and warned that if we do not stop this growing pandemic now, then a country-wide outbreak can occur.
Some claim that the spikes are localized and are not a cause for worry. Covid’s rising trend has only just begun and doctors say there is still time to contain it by reverting to masks, social distancing and hand-washing protocol. Improving vaccination numbers will also protect vulnerable groups during a second wave.
Vaccinations are helping ease the pandemic, but experts say the public still needs to adhere to safety protocols to avoid another surge in cases. There are concerns about a second wave of the pandemic in India with medical experts suggesting that new variants of the virus as well as poor adherence to safety norms could be behind the surge in cases.
India has the lowest fatality rate and now the vaccine is here but this is not the time to be negligent regarding Covid appropriate behaviour. It is observed that the Covid-inappropriate behaviour, pandemic fatigue, gram panchayat elections, marriage season and opening of schools, crowded public transport were the possible reasons for the upsurge in cases in the most part of the States in India.
Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report High Daily New Cases. It is nice that so far, 2,56,85,011 doses of corona vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for `Covishield` and ‘Covaxin’.
The government is doing its best to spread awareness and educate people about the vaccine that this is for their own good and benefit. The government has been frequently requesting people to wear mask, maintain physical distance and avoid moving out unnecessarily. Now people must take all precautions and follow the protocols strictly.
People must remember that whatever the function may be, whether religious, social, birthday parties, weddings etc, as long as we are able to avoid gatherings, we will reduce the probability of having this droplet nuclei in the air and therefore reduce the probability of infecting others.
Prime Minister Modi had summed up that along with the above steps the basic steps to prevent the spread of this infection are wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, taking care of cleanliness etc. He urged that there should be no laxity in such steps and people’s awareness will have to be raised on these subjects. He called for increasing the number of vaccination centres and asked to stay vigilant about the vaccine expiry date and insisted ‘Dawai bhi aur kadai bhi’.
Everyone needs to work together and make sure our population was affected to a much lesser extent than many other advanced countries. We all have observed that the worst is over concerning coronavirus in the country but people still need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour to stay safe. Let us strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour to save India.
(The author is based in Ahmedabad and contributes to Kashmir Vision. He can be reached at [email protected])
KV Network
