India is currently experiencing a rapid surge in the Daily Covid-19 cases with nearly 1.8 lakhs cases of infections detected yesterday that including 4033 cases of Omicron variant. Currently, the active case toll stands at 7,23,619 which is 2.03% of the total number of cases recorded. The recovery rate has also slowed down to 96% which is a worrying sign. States like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Delhi are seeing a rapid surge in the number of cases recorded on a daily basis. Though only 5 to 10% of the infected people require hospitalization, the situation is expected to change.
The statistics indicate that we are at the doorway of the third wave of this Pandemic. Though, it is not officially declared scientific and statistical evidence shows that the curve has set in. Factors like transmission rate, doubling time, and hospital occupancy indicate that the epidemic curve is on the rise again. The number of people reporting with covid 19 symptoms has increased substantially. Urban centres such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai have been the worst hit by this surge.
India’s Covid-19 vaccine
The government is actively encouraging vaccination drives. The good news amidst the dark clouds of this Pandemic is that nearly 151 crores covid 19 vaccine doses have been administered under the National vaccination drive. 91% of adults have been partially vaccinated so far, while 66% have received both doses.
Though the active cases at 2.03% is a worrying sign, there is some relief that many active cases did not require hospitalization at present. The government has also initiated measures to administer booster shots for priority groups such as frontline works, senior citizens with comorbidities. Last year, the devastative second wave hit the country’s healthcare system hard bringing it down to a grinding halt. Hopefully, the measures taken by the government this time like holding massive vaccination drives and improving healthcare will prevent this kind of catastrophe from repeating itself.
STAY SAFE FROM COVID 19 3RD WAVE
As far as our safety goes, it’s always good to be safe than sorry. Follow covid 19 norms appropriately like social distancing, sanitizing your hands, avoiding crowding and other social gatherings. If you have not taken the jab yet, kindly do not delay any further. The state governments are holding massive vaccination drives every weekend. Make sure you receive the jab at the earliest.
Ensure you stay at your home and do not go out unnecessarily. If your company offers work from home options, make sure to avail them. If you or anyone in your family show any symptoms of covid 19 like persistent fever, throat infection, loss of taste or smell, isolate yourself and get tested immediately. The more you delay, the more severe the infection becomes.
Follow healthy practices such as maintaining good respiratory health through yoga and breathing exercises. Take healthy diets with lots of fibres and fluids. Most importantly, maintain good personal hygiene as it is the primary reason to contract the infection. Wear your masks whenever you are going outside as the Omricorn variant is primarily airborne. Do not let the guard down anytime.
Engage in Productive Activities
We understand being confined to home for a long period of time can have detrimental effects on your physical and mental health. While you can follow home works to keep yourself physically fit, give your brain a healthy workout like playing rummy online or poker or any game that is a challenge for your grey matter. Games like Indian rummy relieve you from stress and keep you active. Moreover, playing online rummy can also be very rewarding. It’s important not to lose hope at this critical juncture. Make sure you go for booster doses as soon as they are made available.
Whether or not you are vaccinated with Covishield or Covaccine, the 3rd wave of COVID-19 has to be taken very seriously. By following all these preventive measures and maintaining a pandemic-appropriate behaviour, we can take on the 3rd wave of COVID-19 heads up and eventually win over it.