Fourth wave of Coronavirus is not yet on the horizon for India, assures Dr Samiran Panda, additional Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). However, he also said that with rising cases in some areas of some states, there is a need to be extra cautious and monitor the situation closely.
Talking about the Centre’s recent notice to five state over rising cases, Panda said that some areas of these states are recording increasing number of cases, but this is not an indication of the fourth wave. The cases are contained to few areas and so there was a need to keep a close eye son these clusters, he said. Reiterating the need to be careful, he said people should continue with all the necessary precautions.
A couple of days back, the Centre issued a letter to five states, namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka, that are witnessing rapid increase in Covid-19 cases.
The letter from Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that while the average cases for the week that ended May 27 were at 15,708 in India, the number has now risen to 21,177 active cases. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.95%, and the weekly positivity rate is at 0.73%.
Considering the situation and risk of the fourth wave, Bhushan insisted that the states be very cautious and alert over the rising cases. He said that any flu-like cases must be examined thoroughly.
