The second wave of the Covid pandemic in India has waned, and medical experts have already predicted the possibility of an inevitable third wave. Amid rising concerns, India has witnessed a slight rise in daily coronavirus cases. In the last 24 hours, the country reported 44,643 fresh Covid cases and 464 deaths, a four percent hike from the number of cases reported on Thursday.
Covid cases in India rising
According to the data from the Ministry of Health, 41,096 recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours. As of now, the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 4,26,700 people in India.
Kerala continues to be the epicenter of coronavirus infections in India. In the last 24 hours, the southern state witnessed 22,040 fresh coronavirus cases and 117 Covid-related deaths. Triggering the already looming panic, the daily test positivity rate (TPR) in Kerala has now reached an alarming 13.49 percent.
What to expect from the third wave of Covid?
Several top medical experts in the country including AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria had predicted the rise of the Covid third wave in India. Recently, Dr Samiran Panda, the head of epidemiology and infectious diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research had predicted that the third wave of Covid in India will begin by the end of August.
However, Panda believes that the third wave of the pandemic will not be as deadly as the second wave of coronavirus. According to Panda, a drop in immunity among the people acquired during the first and second waves could result at the beginning of the third wave. The medical expert also suggested that a variant of coronavirus that could bypass the acquired immunity may make the third wave in the country intense.
