Will India See A Third Wave? Here's What IIT Scientist Manindra Agarwal Has To Say

Will India See A Third Wave ? With Omicron cases increasing across the country, IIT scientist Manindra Agarwal involved in the mathematical projection of trajectory of COVID-19 has forecasted that the country could be hit by the third wave of coronavirus by February. During that time, the cases will likely reach up to 1-1.5 lakh a day in the country. He, however, highlighted that the third wave will be milder than the second wave. The prediction has been made keeping in mind nature of the new COVID variant Omicron.

The Omicron variant is not as severe as Delta variant, he said adding that a close eye is being kept on cases in South Africa where many cases of this variant have been recorded. Agarwal added that as of now South Africa has not seen a rise in hospitalisation, as per reports.

Omicron in India

On Monday, India’s tally was 23 after two more people were confirmed infected with Omicron in Mumbai on Monday. Out of these 23, Rajasthan has the most number of Omicron cases with nine. This is followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and New Delhi.

According to the doctor who raised the alarm over Omicron, the patients suspected of having Omicron had only shown mild symptoms. They could also easily recover fully without hospitalisation.

“People are likely to confuse this with the common cold as there is no breathing trouble or loss of smell or taste, which may increase its spread”, says Dr Rakesh Mishra, Former Chief of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. He, however, said that this might misguide people and lead them to miss testing. Read more about its symptoms here.

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