ICMR DG says difficult to predict second wave of COVID; smaller peaks likely

As India continues its battle against Coronavirus, ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava said has said that it is difficult to predict whether or not India will see a second wave of COVID-19 infections and there will be smaller peaks at different times due to varied geography of the country.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Bhargava also said that the situation was rapidly evolving and there have been immense variations in spread of infection and mortality rates in different geographies and across different demographics around the world.

"SARS-CoV-2 is a novel virus. There is still a lot we don't know about it. We have also seen immense variations in the spread of infection and mortality rates in different geographies and across different demographics around the world. So, it is difficult to predict whether or not India will see a second wave of infections. There is also a wide variation in disease distribution in specific states - so one size cannot fit all," he said.

Furthermore, he sai that full participation of all citizens is essential to overcome the COVID-19 challenge.

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COVID-19 situation in India

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has tested 2,02,02,858 COVID-19 samples so far owing to the strategy of 'Test aggressively, track efficiently, isolate and treat promptly'. This strategy followed by state governments under the guidance of the Centre has led to an increase in the testing capacity across the country. It has facilitated widespread COVID-19 testing of people. 

As of now, the country is conducting 14,640 tests per million population with 3,81,027 samples being tested in the last 24 hours. Moreover, 24 states and Union Territories have reported higher testing per million than the national average. There are 1348 COVID-19 testing labs in India out of which 914 are in the government sector while 434 others are in the private sector. 

In the last two days, a lot of high-profile politicians and persons holding constitutional office have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. On August 2, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa and Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit tested positive for COVID-19. Uttar Pradesh Technical Education Minister Kamal Rani Varun passed away due to COVID-19 after being hospitalized for almost two weeks. Earlier in the day, Congress Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram revealed that he too tested positive. 

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(Image: PTI) (Inputs: ANI)