Saturday, Jun 10, 2023
English News
  • Hyderabad
  • Telangana
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • India
  • World
  • Entertainment
  • Science and Tech
  • Sport
  • Business
  • ...
    • NRI
    • View Point
    • cartoon
    • Columns
    • Reviews
    • Education Today
    • Property
    • Videos
    • Lifestyle
    • Rewind
E-Paper
  • NRI
  • View Point
  • cartoon
  • Columns
  • Reviews
  • Education Today
  • Property
  • Videos
  • Lifestyle
  • Rewind
Home | Editorials | Staring At Second Wave

Staring at second wave

Possible spread of new mutants and vaccine hesitancy have only added to the growing concerns

By Telangana Today
Published Date - 12:00 AM, Sat - 13 March 21
Staring at second wave
Possible spread of new mutants and vaccine hesitancy have only added to the growing concerns
whatsapp facebook twitter telegram

With an alarming surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, India may well be staring at the second wave of infections, a grim scenario that should be avoided at any cost. At a time when the vaccination drive is slowly gaining momentum, the country can ill-afford any major resurgence in the infections. There is no room for complacency on the part of the authorities nor is there any justification for the general public to drop their guard at this stage. There should be no let-up in following the Covid-19 protocol—wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and hand hygiene. A minor change in trajectory that began towards the second half of February in Maharashtra and Punjab has now become a steady stream of increasing new infections in several parts of the country in the past week. The seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases, called case trajectory, has risen by 67% from 10,988 cases a day in the week ending February 11, to 18,371 cases a day for the week ending March 10, raising fears of the second wave hitting the country. The possible spread of new mutants of the deadly virus and the continued vaccine hesitancy among a section of the people have only added to the growing concerns. While initially, the rise in cases was gradual, it has slowly been gaining pace and has come at a time when restrictions on several economic and social activities have eased, and people and governments are getting complacent, with almost no mask discipline in many parts of the country.

A worrying trend, particularly in the West, is that this second wave of infections has been much more vicious and stronger in terms of the number of daily cases and the rate of spread. Maharashtra, the worst-hit State in the country, has accounted for nearly 57% of the new cases reported across the country in the past one week. Alarmingly, the State has witnessed a rise of 331% in the number of cases during the last one month. Apart from Maharashtra and Punjab, three other States—Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi— have witnessed a sharp rise in infections. Another worrying factor is that the national average positivity rate, a crucial metric to assess the spread of the virus, has gone up from 1.6% in February to 2.6% now. Overcoming the initial hiccups and technical glitches in the Co-WIN portal, the NDA government has finally shed its policy of over-centralisation and allowed greater participation of the private healthcare sector in the vaccination programme. The next step should be to expand the drive to include people of younger age groups so that the coverage can be accelerated because vaccination is the quickest way to check the virus spread.


Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.

Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .


 

  • Follow Us :
  • Tags
  • Co-WIN portal
  • COVID-19 cases
  • India
  • NDA government

Related News

  • WTC Final: India reach 164/3 at stumps on Day 4, need 280 runs to win

    WTC Final: India reach 164/3 at stumps on Day 4, need 280 runs to win

  • Asia Cup archery stage 3: India end campaign with seven medals

    Asia Cup archery stage 3: India end campaign with seven medals

  • Opposition parties to contest 2024 Lok Sabha polls together: Kapil Sibal

    Opposition parties to contest 2024 Lok Sabha polls together: Kapil Sibal

  • India logs 186 fresh Covid cases, active cases decrease to 2,501

    India logs 186 fresh Covid cases, active cases decrease to 2,501

  • WTC Final: Australia end Day 3 at 123/4, extend lead to 296 runs

    WTC Final: Australia end Day 3 at 123/4, extend lead to 296 runs

  • Junior Shooting World Cup: India finish on top of medal tally

    Junior Shooting World Cup: India finish on top of medal tally

Latest News

  • Diwali to be school holiday in New York after State legislature passes Bill

    13 mins ago
  • Candlelight vigil by Kuki women in Delhi for those killed in Manipur violence

    28 mins ago
  • US: 2 dead, another injured, in shooting involving Kansas City police officer

    42 mins ago
  • Google patches new Chrome zero-day flaw used in exploit

    57 mins ago
  • Intense fighting reported in Ukraine as last nuclear reactor is shut down amid flooding

    1 hour ago
  • Shanmukha shares lead with three others at Brilliant Trophy Chess tournament

    1 hour ago
  • Rains bring respite from heat in Telangana

    2 hours ago
  • Football: Imran Ali scores hat-trick as Abbas Union down Hyderabad Sporting

    2 hours ago

company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

business

  • Subscribe

telangana today

  • Telangana
  • Hyderabad
  • Latest News
  • Entertainment
  • World
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Science & Tech
  • Sport

follow us

© Copyrights 2022 TELANGANA PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD. All rights reserved. Powered by Veegam