News Analysis India

Tag: COVID-19 third wave

  • Maha records 3,900 new COVID-19 infections; Tope says rise in cases ‘alarming’ 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The finance capital on Wednesday recorded a sharp rise in new Omicron variant cases, amid reports of Covid-19 third wave, by clocking 2,510 infections, the highest daily addition since May 8, which is reportedly an 82 percent surge. The national capital Delhi recorded 86 percent surge with 923 cases. Meanwhile, Kolkata reported 540 cases, Bengaluru 400 and Chennai 294 cases.

    Maharashtra recorded a spurt in new cases at 3,900, including 85 of Omicron, with the daily count rising by 1,728 from a day before, the state health department said even as Health minister Rajesh Tope expressed concern over the spiralling number and termed it as ‘alarming.’

    With the addition of 3,900 cases, which were detected after 1,23,248 coronavirus tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the statewide infection count shot up to 66,65,386, the health department said.

    The state recorded 20 fresh deaths, taking the number of fatalities to 1,41,496, the health department said in a bulletin.

    It said 1,306 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recovered cases to 65,06,137.

    Currently, 1,22,906 people are in home quarantine and 905 people in institutional quarantine, the bulletin added.

    On the Omicron front, Maharashtra recorded 85 fresh infections, the highest single-day tally by any state in the country of the new strain so far.

    “Today, 85 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported in the state.

    Of these, 47 patients have been reported by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) – (where samples were sent for genome sequencing) and 38 by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER),” the health bulletin said.

    Thirty-eight Omicron cases reported by IISER are from community surveillance and as per preliminary information they do not have a history of any international travel, it said.

    Of the 47 patients reported by the Pune-based NIV, 43 are international travellers and four are their close contacts, the bulletin added.

    On Tuesday, the state had recorded 2,172 cases and on Wednesday it registered nearly 80 per cent rise in infections in a span of 24 hours.

    Health Minister Tope said in view of the rising coronavirus cases, the existing curbs have to be observed strictly at parties and other public events.

    He said in the last eight to 10 days, the active cases in the state stood in the range of 5,000 to 6,000.

    On December 10, the state had 6,543 active cases of COVID-19, according to a health department bulletin.

    On Tuesday, the state had 11,492 active cases and on Wednesday (Dec 29), their number may cross the 20,000-mark, the minister said earlier in the day.

    However, the health department data in the evening showed active cases stood at 14,065.

    The rise in active cases in Maharashtra is “alarming”, he said.

    State Tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray urged people not to panic, but exercise extreme caution in the wake sharp rise in coronavirus cases in Mumbai and stressed on vaccination and widespread use of face masks.

    Though hospitalisations and positivity rates were low, the COVID-19 cases have surged since last week, Thackeray said.

    After reporting daily cases under-500 on most days in the last few months, the city is witnessing a spike in infections.

    He further said that in the next 48 hours, the BMC will be getting in touch with all educational institutions in the city to plan an organised vaccination drive for children in the age group of 15 to 18 years, who are to be targeted in the expanded inoculation campaign.

    The authorities are also preparing a list of health workers, frontline staff and senior citizens who are eligible to take the booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which should be administered nine months after the second shot, the tourism minister said.

    Thackeray said all public places in the city will remain shut on December 31.

    Speaking about the bed capacity at hospitals, Thackeray said there were 54,000 beds available in the city at present.

    “We have also asked all the Covid care jumbo centres to be at stand by, at all readiness levels, along with basic facilities to medical infrastructure.

    Testing and tracing protocols for all that have been operational all through, were reviewed too,” Thackeray tweeted later on.

    Earlier in the day, NCP leader Supriya Sule said she and her husband had tested positive for coronavirus.

    Coronavirus figures of Maharashtra are as follows: Positive cases 66,65,386; new cases 3,900; death toll 1,41,496; recoveries 65,06,137; active cases 14,065; total tests 6,87,68,760.

  • Third Covid wave may occur either due to mutations in virus or pool of susceptible population: Centre

    Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said vaccination protects from severe manifestation of the disease and improves herd immunity, and is accordingly likely to mitigate the impact COVID-19.

  • Parliamentary committee takes stock of preparedness for possible Covid third wave

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on Monday discussed the Centre’s preparations for a possible third wave of Covid-19, progress on vaccination and the impact of lockdown on the economy and migrant labourers.

    The committee headed by Congress MP Anand Sharma heard views of senior officials from the health, home and labour ministries on the socio-economic impact of Covid-19. MPs from from the ruling party and the opposition asked the officials about reports of a possible third wave, the new variants and preparedness of medical infrastructure to handle the situation.

    MPs told the officials that the government must speak in one voice regarding a possible third wave, to prevent spreading panic among the masses. Officials were told that the infrastructure put up during the second wave, which saw a massive jump in cases and deaths, should not be dismantled like it was done after the first wave. The Centre should be prepared with availability of medicines, oxygen supply and other infrastructure to tackle the next wave and should not be caught off guard.

    On vaccine availability, the panel was told that about two-third of the population will be fully vaccinated by end of 2021 and over 135 crore doses will be available between August and December. The doses would be of Covishield, Covaxin, Zydus Cadila’s DNA vaccine and Sputnik, among others.

    According to the officials, coronavirus variants of concern (B.1.617) led to increased transmissibility, change in virulence and also had an effect on diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. “The officials told the Parliamentarians that the proportion of Covid-19 cases with variants of concern has risen from 10.31 per cent in May to 51 per cent in June 20,” the panel told the officials. The impact of lockdown on migrant labourers has been less severe.

    Less severe on migrant workers

    Labour ministry officials told the panel that the impact of second wave has been less severe on migrant workers. Compared to 1.14 crore, who returned to home states during the first wave, only 5.1 lakh returned this year.

  • AIIMS, Rishikesh gears up for third wave of Covid-19 with children in mind

    By PTI
    RISHIKESH: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences here is imparting special training to its nursing staff and creating a separate 100-bed Covid ward for children in view of the possibility of the third wave of coronavirus.

    “With experts warning that the third wave may affect children more than others, we are leaving nothing to chance,” AIIMS Director Ravi Kant said on Thursday.

    The focus is on increasing the number of beds, equipment and trained manpower especially for children, he said.

    An additional 100-bed Covid ward with 50 oxygen supported and 50 ICU beds is being created at the hospital exclusively for children, Dean, Hospital Affairs, U B Mishra, said.

    ALSO READ | More than 1.89 crore unutilised Covid vaccine doses available with states, UTs: Union Health Ministry

    A team of 55 trained resident doctors and 50 trained nursing staff has been kept ready for the treatment of children alone, he said.

    “We have a team of 15 trained nursing officers in the neo-natal intensive care unit for newly born infants less than one-month-old. We have 30 beds in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and 25 in NICU already. But we are also creating a 100-bed additional Covid ward for children,” Mishra said.

    It means that 155 children can be treated at AIIMs Rishikesh at a time, he said.

    The Uttarakhand High Court had on Wednesday reprimanded the state government for its lack of preparations in view of the third wave on Wednesday.

    “Will the state government wake from its slumber when our children start dying in the third wave?” a division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma had asked.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Covid-19 third wave peak expected around September-October: IIT Kanpur study

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: An IIT Kanpur study done by Prof. Rajesh Ranjan and Mahendra Verma, along with their team, on Monday said third wave peak of COVID could be around September – October this year.

    “There is a significant anxiety among policy makers and public about the third wave. For the same, using SIR model, we have constructed the following three scenarios of a possible third wave using the epidemic parameters of the second wave. We assume that India is fully unlocked on 15 July. Scenario 1 (Back-to-Normal): Third wave peak in October but a lower peak height than the second wave. Scenario 2 (Normal with virus mutations): The peak could be higher than the second one and may appear early (September). Scenario 3 (Stricter interventions): The peak of the third wave could be delayed until late October with strict social distancing. Here, the peak will be lower than the second wave,” a press statement said.

    ALSO READ | COVID-19 vaccination set to open for pregnant women soon as threat of third wave looms

    Profs. Rajesh Ranjan and Mahendra Verma, along with their team at IIT Kanpur, provide daily COVID-19 forecasts in India on covid19-forecast.org.

    As per the assement from IIT Kanpur team,the second wave has waned significantly almost in every state except in some Northeast states (Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim etc.).

    The study notes that mostly positivity rate is less than 5 per cent but Kerala, Goa, Sikkim and Meghalaya still have a positivity rate of more than 10 per cent.

    “India’s average daily case count has reduced significantly. As on 19 June, it is 63,000 compared the peak of about 4 lakhs. Most states have daily Test Positivity Rate(TPR) less than WHO recommended level (5%). However, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Meghalaya still have high daily TPR (>10%),” it said.

    As per the study, India’s daily Case Fatality Rate (CFR) has increased recently to 3.5 per cent, but the cumulative CFR of the second wave is comparable to that of the first wave.

    “At present, the model does not include vaccination, which should decrease the peak significantly. Revised model with vaccination and with more recent data on the same is being worked out,” the study says.

    By end of this week, another study by IIT Kanpur on third wave is expected to come.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Uddhav government announces paediatric task force to prepare for COVID-19 third wave

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday announced the setting up of a paediatric task force, comprising 13 experts from the state, to prepare for the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which children are likely to be affected.

    Tope in a statement said noted paediatrician Dr Suhas Prabhu will be the chief of the 13-member task force, while Tatyarao Lahane, the director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, will be its member secretary.

    An order in this regard was issued on Thursday by Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary of the public health department, it was stated.

    Anticipating a third wave of the pandemic, which is likely to affect children in more numbers, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had instructed the public health department to set up a task force of experts to make necessary preparations, the statement said.