As we gear up for the festive season, rising Covid-19 cases in the country have us fearing a looming possibility of a fourth covid-19 wave. Many Indians feel there’s a spurt in the Covid cases, but most of them are not being reported correctly.Â
Delhi and Mumbai record a significant hike in Covid-19 cases
The national capital reported 2,146 new cases and eight deaths due to coronavirus, the highest in nearly six months. According to the data shared by the health department, the positivity rate was 17.83% yesterday.Â
Dr. S Chatterjee, senior consultant of internal medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi, says, “The number of cases are huge at this moment in the city. I think it has been underreported because quite a few people not even getting themselves tested. The doctors also not advising and the patients are also not getting tested.” He further added that if the testing increases, the cases will also increase.Â
Mumbai is also witnessing a steady increase in Covid cases. The city’s infection tally went up to 10,59,433 on Wednesday, with 102 new people getting tested positive in the last 24 hours. Mumbai has been recording new double-digit cases since March, which is the city’s highest spike in the previous few months.Â
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keeping a close eye on the emerging Covid-19 situation in India and has chaired a meeting with the chief ministers on Wednesday through video conferencing.Â
Are we looking at a fourth covid-19 wave?
Although coronavirus cases are rising across the country, experts opine that this is less likely to culminate in a wave as deadly as the one caused by the delta variation in April 2021. Many experts feel the sudden rise is due to the dwindling vaccination immunity and the lifting of all covid curbs, including wearing masks in most parts of the country.Â
Dr. T Jacob John, an eminent virologist, told ANI, “The probability of a fourth wave is extremely low. Our best defence against the ill effects of a wave is very high coverage of vaccination.”
