New Delhi, May 7
The government of Friday said the 3rd wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is avoidable, Earlier, it said the 3rd wave is inevitable.
"It may not take place at all if precautions are taken. The pandemic has different peaks and falls across the country," the expert said.
K Vijay Raghavan, the principal scientific advisor to the government, on Friday clarified his earlier comment that a third wave of the pandemic is inevitable in the country and said such a wave may not take place everywhere in the country if adequate precautions are taken. "It may not take place at all if precautions are taken. The pandemic has different peaks and falls across the country," the expert said.
"Infections take place when a susceptible population is present," Raghavan said.
"It may be useful to talk about the location, timing and intensity of infections instead of waves and their number, although the latter is in common usage. If we take strong measures, the third wave may not happen at all places or indeed anywhere at all. It depends on how effectively the guidance is implemented at the local level, in the states, in districts," Raghavan said.
The "insidious, asymptomatic" transmission of the virus can be stopped, if the guidance on testing, treating, containing is followed, he said. "This sounds difficult, it is difficult but we can and must do it," he added.
"Very simply put, the infections rise when the virus has the opportunity to infect people. When the virus runs out of opportunities, infections fall," he said. Explaining, the principal scientific advisor said that when a large number of people is vaccinated against the virus or is following social distancing and other precautions, the virus runs out of opportunities.
But when virus runs out of opportunities, it does not mean that they have been eliminated. If new opportunities are given to them, cases will again rise. New opportunities can arise if people become complacent if people think the pandemic is over, the expert explained.
"The frequency and the size of these ups and downs may be reduced as this is in our hands. Remember, asymptomatic people can also transmit the infection. This is all the more reason why you should maintain social distancing and proper hygiene," he said.
On Wednesday, Raghavan said a phase three of the pandemic is inevitable given the highest levels of the circulating virus, but its time scale is not clear. "As infections rose, so did immunity among those infected. A combination of the standing level of immunity in the population and cautionary steps halted the spread of the first wave," he had said. |
