Globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been around “200,174,883 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 4,255,892 deaths,” that were reported to the WHO till August 5. As many as 658,630 cases have been administered. India has reported over 42,982 of those cases. Twenty four hours later, on Friday August 6, India reported around 44,643 new Covid-19 cases, taking the cumulative tally to 3,18,56,757. According to media reports this is the third straight day when over 40,000 new cases have been reported.
While the numbers are on the rise, even if the rise is ‘slow’ when compared to the onset of the devastating second wave, the Union government has not sounded any alarms as such yet. The health ministry’s focus, via its media statements, remains on the Recovery Rate being an encouraging 97.37% currently, it too has acknowledged that the daily cases have crossed the 40 thousand mark once again. India’s Daily Positivity Rate is 2.58%, and according to the ministry it has been less than 3% for the last 10 days. “Less than 50,000 Daily New Cases have been reported since thirty-nine consecutive days,” stated the ministry applauding the “sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs.” According to officials statements testing is also at a high and “cumulatively, India has conducted over 47.48 crore (47,48,93,363) tests so far.” The government’s Covid-19 tracker map however, shows that the worst is not yet over..
#COVID19 UPDATE
▪️ 49.53 Cr. Vaccine Doses administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
▪️ 3,10,15,844 total recoveries across the country
▪️ Recovery Rate currently at 97.36%
▪️ 41,096 patients recovered during the last 24 hours
Read: https://t.co/Pjbmwi22n6 pic.twitter.com/lSjdTGLIIK
— PIB India (@PIB_India) August 6, 2021
States sound early warnings
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has minced no words and warned that the state will not hesitate to “impose complete lockdown if people fail to observe Covid guidelines”. Naveen Patnaik’s warning, the Telegraph reported, had coincided with Shree Jagannath Temple’s chief administrator announcing that the shrine will open again from August 16. The state’s CM has cautioned against “the possible third wave of the pandemic” stated the news reports. The CM reminded the people that some countries are already showing an upswing in Covid-19 cases and said that “At this point, there is an urgent need to adhere to Covid guidelines.” He added that even though the state has been “unlocking” and shops can now remain open from 6 A.M – 8 P.M this was not the time to let the guard down. According to the news report a “weekend shutdown” continues in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, as they have reported a high caseload.
Meanwhile, the the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Dr Krishan Kumar told the media that while the temple will be open from August “only the people of Puri town will be allowed to have ‘darshan’ of the deities for the first five days. As there is a weekend shutdown on August 21 and August 22 (Saturday and Sunday) devotees from other parts of the state will be allowed entry into the shrine from August 23.” Devotees “will have to produce either their final Covid vaccination certificate or the RTPCR negative report, while visiting and will have to wait in a queue for their turn to enter the temple.
In Delhi too, the Health Minister Satyendar Jain has stated that the Delhi Government is “preparing for the worst-case scenario so that we can save precious lives.” He said that the state government has “learnt from the experience of the second wave of Covid-19 and is taking all necessary measures to combat any potential wave,” and over 37,000 beds dedicated for Covid-19 treatment are being created along with ramping up additional health infrastructure including supplies of oxygen, ventilator and ICU beds. He too has warned that people need to be vigilant and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. “We have made public what our response would be. If the positivity rate now goes up to 5 per cent, then we will go for an immediate lockdown without delay,” said Jain. According to the minister, the Delhi Government is conducting 75,000 tests every day “and aggressive contact tracing is still on to ensure that the situation remains under control.”
Meanwhile, according to a report in Livemint the West Bengal government has also extended the existing Covid-19 restrictions in the state till August 15. The state government has “allowed government programmes at indoor facilities with 50 per cent seating capacity. Buses, taxis, auto rickshaws have been permitted to operate with 50 per cent capacity. Offices, both government and private, are also allowed to function with half the manpower. However, “not more than 50 people will be allowed at weddings and 20 people at funerals. All markets and bazaars will be functional from 7 AM and to 11 AM, while sweet shops will be allowed to function from 10 AM to 5 PM.”
In Tamil Nadu the coronavirus lockdown has been extended till August 9. According to news reports Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has appealed that people avoid stepping out unless necessary and has asked authorities and police to “strictly enforce guidelines”. He has also said collectors and commissioners can enforce lockdowns in specific areas if crowds gather. The Tamil Nadu government has already issued orders that it is now mandatory for people coming from Kerala from August 5 onwards to carry a negative RT-PCR report. The Karnataka government has also made carrying a negative RT-PCR certificate mandatory for those coming from Kerala and Maharashtra.
Kerala continues to report a high caseload and the Health minister Veena George has asked citizens to be “extra cautious and vigilant against transmission of the infection to prevent a third wave from occurring”. Recently the Health Minister Veena George told the state Assembly that the number of Covid patients in the state will increase further. According to a report in Mathrubhumi, the minister while responding to an adjournment motion notice filed by the opposition seeking a discussion on the “unscientific nature of the Covid protocol”, said said that the number of patients will be “double or more than what is reported now”. The minister told the Assembly that if the “third wave occurs even before the vaccination process is completed then the situation could turn worse,” stated the news report.
The Himachal Pradesh government has also made a negative RT-PCR report mandatory for all tourists entering the state. The negative Covid report should not be “more than 72 hours old”. The hill state has seen a huge inflow of tourist traffic. Scores of media reports showed traffic holdups and jams on highways, choked parking lots, and hotels at full occupancy. In some areas it was reported that people were forced to spend the night in their vehicles as they couldn’t find a vacant hotel room.
Over a month ago, the Union Government deputed multi-disciplinary teams to visit Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Manipur in view of the increased number of Covid-19 cases being reported by these States. In July, districts having more than 10 per cent positivity were identified as “districts of concern” reported India Today. Arunachal Pradesh had 19 such districts, Manipur had eight, Meghalaya had seven, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura had four each and Assam had two.
However according to a report in the Economic times the “the ongoing surge in cases in certain regions such as Kerala and northeast India is part of the second wave started by the Delta variant”. It quoted Anurag Aggarwal, director of CSIR-Institute Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology as saying, “There is no third wave yet. We are still in the late phase of the second wave,” he added that the second wave reached later in the northeast and has spread more slowly in Kerala. Another expert cited in the report was K Srinath Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), who said the rate of hospitalisation significant indicators of a possible third wave were “number (of cases), deaths and hospitalisation. The best indicator is hospitalisation because the other two indicators are vulnerable to undercounting and also because the numbers needing hospitalisation indicate the stress on the health system.”
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