As winters approach, India stares at 2nd Covid-19 wave: NITI Aayog

In view of the winter season and festivities around the corner the NITI Aayog has warned that the second peak of Covid19 is impending over the country Dr VK Paul member health and head of the national Covid19 task force cautioned on Tuesday during a press briefing that India will see another storm of Covid19 casesHowever the mortality will be much lower as our healthcare system is now prepared for the fight he addedObserving the nature of the respiratory virus and the significant rise in cases in Europe and the United States of America USA we can assume a rise in the cases of the Covid19 Dr Paul saidThe tendency of respiratory virus is that it thrives during winters Since SARSCov2 is a respiratory virus we assume that its infectiousness will increase during winters The study of pandemics of the Influenza virus reveals that the cases were increased during winter phases more than the earlier phases he explainedDr Paul also stressed the need to take more precautions during the winters and cautioned people not to host any gathering during festivities that may turn into a superspreader eventNow its clear that patients of Covid19 start shedding the virus 23 days before the arrival of symptoms Such patients are innocent as they do not know about the status of their health However their innocence may turn criminal if they are invited to a gathering The infected person can pass on the disease to many and chains would be formed he explainedEpidemiologists also observed high chances of an increase in the case burden of the viral disease in the coming daysAll viral diseases increase during winters In most of the cases the viruses die at high temperature but they multiply in low temperatures While the SarsCov2 has shown no such trend it has spread during summers as well But banking upon the evidence of the second wave in many countries where winters have started we can assume that India is staring at the second wave said Prof Dr Prabhakaran Dorairaj Director Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions Public Health Foundation of India PHFIHe also cautioned that that condition of pollution would worsen the already bad situation of the Covid19 spreadBesides the behaviour of people during winters would also impact the infection spread They huddle together for warmth where chances of coming in contact with an infected person fare higher Prof Dodairaj addedThe only way to dodge the contraction is to step out only when necessary avoid overcrowding wear a mask and maintain hand hygiene all the time he advisedMeanwhile the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting IampB informed about the peoples participation campaign Jan Aandolan an awareness campaign to mitigate the corona spread in view of the upcoming festivals winter season and opening up of the economyThe campaign was launched by PM Narendra Modi on October 8 to encourage people to adopt Covidappropriate behaviour strictly The campaign would run for two months the whole of October till November endThe core of the campaign is three simple messages Wear a mask Wash hands and follow physical distancing stated Amit Khare secretary IampB ministryHe also informed that the ministry has roped in frontline workers beneficiaries of government schemes such as MNREGA PM Aawas Yojna and private sectors trade associations for the massive outreach of the campaignKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever