PremiumThe Karnataka government on Monday decided to make wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing compulsory in the state amid fresh Covid-19 concerns in several parts of the country
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The Covid-19 fourth wave may peak after June and its effects will be felt till October, said Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar on Tuesday, citing data by IIT Kanpur.
"IIT Kanpur has been sharing data and reports. According to a report shared by them, it (fourth wave) is likely to begin from June end, but things have started a month ahead. According to them, it is likely to peak after June and may go one till September and October," said Sudhakar.
He stated that the reports submitted by the institution about the previous waves have been by and large precise. “The current too is based on scientific data and may turn out to be accurate," said the minister.
However, he stressed that people need to learn to live with the virus by taking precautionary measures like wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
“It has been two years since the Covid pandemic began and we have been able to gather ample information regarding it. We are not in a position to say that the virus will completely vanish from our lives but we also need to lead our lives," said Sudhakar.
“So, we have to learn to live with it by following measures like vaccination, wearing masks and maintaining social distance," he added.
Noting that the prevalent variant is said to be Omicron's sublineages, he said the INSACOG lab is likely to give an official report regarding this in a couple of days.
In addition to this, he urged people to get vaccinated at the earliest, stating that the country could manage the third wave of Covid with not many fatalities or hospitalisations due to the vaccination programme.
First dose vaccination coverage in Karnataka is about 105%, while it is more 98% for the second dose, which means 10-12 lakh people are yet to take the second dose.
About 55% of people have taken the precautionary dose that is being administered freely to those above 60 years of age.
Karnataka Covid guidelines
The Karnataka government on Monday decided to make wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing compulsory in the state amid fresh Covid-19 concerns in several parts of the country.
Although no decision on imposing a penalty for not wearing masks has been taken, those found spitting in public will be fined.
Further, passengers travelling directly from South Korea, Thailand and Japan – where a spike in cases has been reported – will be specially monitored at the airports and their details and contact numbers will be collected, and they will be telemonitored at home.
Virologist on 4th wave
Sudhakar's statement comes even as eminent virologist and former Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore professor Dr T Jacob John on Tuesday said that the probability of a fourth Covid-19 wave in India is “extremely low".
“If a fourth wave comes it will be a total surprise to me. Therefore I cannot guess anything about it. The probability of a fourth wave is extremely low. Our best defence against the ill effects of a wave is very high coverage of vaccination," news agency ANI quoted John as saying.
