Can’t Rule Out Chances of Second COVID-19 Wave in Winter: NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog member VK Paul said on Sunday, 18 October, that while the number of new coronavirus cases and fatalities have gone down, the likelihood of a second wave of contaminations during the winter season cannot be ruled out.

Paul, who heads the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) said that we cannot rule out (another coronavirus wave this winter in India).

Anything can happen and we are still many things discovering about the virus. India is in a more upright situation now but 90 per cent of the people are still susceptive to covid infections, he added.

“In India, the novel covid cases and the number of deaths have diminished in the last three weeks and the pandemic has been sustained in most of the states. However, there are five states (Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal) and 3-4 Union Territories (UTs), where there is still an increasing trend,” Paul told PTI.

Talking about the vaccines, he said that India had sufficient resources to deliver the vaccine to its inhabitants, once it is prepared. India has enough cold warehouse facilities and this can be readily expanded when required, he added.

India’s total active cases remained under 8 lakhs for the second progressive day as the country added 61,871 new cases and 1,033 deaths in the preceding 24 hours.

India continues to remain the second worst-hit country in the world in terms of the total number of contaminations. India’s total mortality toll now reaches 1,14,031.