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Updated August 23rd, 2021 at 13:51 IST

COVID-19: MHA panel cautions third wave likely to peak in October, sends report to PMO

The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has warned of a third COVID-19 wave peak in October in its recent report to the Prime Minister's Office.

Reported by: Shloak Prabhu
COVID-19
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The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has warned of a third COVID-19 wave peak in October in its recent report to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), news agency ANI reported on Monday. The update over the possible third wave comes even as India is already tackling the COVID-19 pandemic after its recent second wave. However, the government of India has already stated that it is prepared to tackle the possible third wave. 

The NIDM report has quoted Reuters' opinion survey of 40 experts who had warned that the third wave will hit India between July 15 and October 13, 2021. Speaking about the Delta-plus variant as a likely reason for the third-wave, that has raised concerns in the recent months, the NIDM stated that it stems from the mutation in the B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) which caused the fatal second wave in India. 

The panel added that the new variant concern is a sub-lineage of the Delta variant that has acquired a spike protein mutation 'K417N'. In addition, it also remarked that the mutation is also found in the Beta variant that was first detected in South Africa. 

"Though there is not enough evidence as of now to designate the Delta Plus variant as more dangerous than Delta, according to NCDC, as of August 2, 2021, this variant has been detected in 70 cases across 16 states from the 58,240 samples that have been sequenced so far in India," it said. 

However, the report has also mentioned that the Indian Academy of Paediatrics found that there is no biological evidence that the current and the new Delta Plus variant will affect children more than adults. It further added that the Lancet COVID-19 Commission India Task Force concluded that there is no current evidence that an anticipated the third wave will target children specifically.

"A serological survey (March 15-June 10, 2021 from over 45,000 samples across 4 states) by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) suggests that the hypothesis of a future wave specifically targeting children (two years and above) is unfounded. The study noted a serological prevalence of 55.7 per cent in ages 2-17 years and 63.5 per cent among adults which clearly determines that there was a statistical difference in prevalence between adults and children," the report mentioned. 

The MHA panel has also expressed the need for paediatric facilities, including doctors, staff, and equipment like ventilators and ambulances. It has asserted that the current infrastructure is 'nowhere close', in case the situation needs to be tackled. According to the report, the experts have also said that vaccination should be prioritised for children with with co-morbidities and those with special needs.

NIDM warns of third COVID-19 wave peak in October 

Centre prepared to tackle possible third wave of COVID-19: Anurag Thakur

Earlier, Union Minister Anurag Thakur informed that the Centre is 'fully ready' to tackle the possible third wave of COVID-19. As a part of its measures to tackle the next wave, the government has also made a provision of Rs 23,123 crore, Thakur added. The Union Minister further informed that special emphasis is being given to strengthening paediatric care amid apprehension that the third wave may affect children more than others. 

"The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is fully ready to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19. A provision of Rs 23,123 has been made to deal with it," said Thakur. 

Additional measures taken by the Centre also include the curbing of the export of COVID rapid antigen testing kits. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification on Monday, 16 August, informed that restrictions have been imposed on the export. In addition, the exporters are also required to procure a license or permission from the DGFT for any items that have been listed under the restricted category. The measures have been adopted to ensure the domestic availability of the kits.

"The export of COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits... has been put under the restricted category, with immediate effect," the DGFT said in a notification.

COVID-19 in India 

According to the Union Health Ministry's data on Monday, India has recorded 25,072 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 3,24,49,306. In addition, 44,157 fresh recoveries took the number of recovered cases to 3,16,80,626 while 389 new deaths have taken the death toll to 4,34,756. Moreover, as a part of the Nationwide Vaccination Drive, 58.25 crore doses of vaccines have been administered so far, the Health Ministry data added. 

 

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Published August 23rd, 2021 at 11:18 IST

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