COVID-19 third wave can hit Maharashtra in 2-4 weeks, warns Covid task force

Maharashtra covid-19 task force has warned that the third wave could hit the state or it's financial capital Mumbai— within the next two to four weeks. The task force said that children are less likely to affected by the 3rd wave as much as those in lower middle-class clusters who haven’t been exposed to the virus so far. These predictions were presented in the meeting chaired by CM Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday that was held to review preparedness for third wave. It included task force members, the state health minister and senior bureaucrats.

According to data presented in the meeting, the total number of cases in the third wave is projected to double over those in the second wave, with active cases reaching 8 lakh (active cases as of Wednesday were 1.4 lakh). The meeting was also told that in the first wave, 19 lakh cases were reported, which soared to 40 lakh in the second wave. However, it is expected that 10% of the total cases will come from children or young adults, the same as in the first two waves.

The task force believes that the population segment that escaped Covid in the first two waves are most vulnerable. Dr Shashank Joshi, a task force member told Times of India, “The UK is facing a third wave within four weeks of ebbing of the second wave. We could be in the same situation if we don’t stay vigilant and practice COVID-appropriate behaviour.” “We believe children won’t be the target of the next wave. They may not make up for more than 3.5% of the patient pool—like it happened in the first two waves,” he said.

Dr Rahul Pandit, the task force member said, “How to keep wave 3 limited is in our hands. We must avoid crowded places and ensure double masking. If we give away basic cognizance, the third wave will be bigger.”

The task force members also said that vaccination should be conducted aggressively that will help in controlling the virus spread.