With Omicron, the new variant of SARS-CoV2, the third wave of coronavirus could hit the peak by February with cases likely to be reaching up to 1-1.5 lakh a day in the country, but it will be milder than the second wave, Manindra Agarwal, IIT scientist involved in the mathematical projection of trajectory of COVID-19, said.
According to Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman, national Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force, the current scenario qualifies as a wave.
Giving rise to fresh worries about the COVID-19 pandemic rearing its head again, the R-factor, which indicates the speed at which the infection is spreading in the country, has risen recently leading to a sluggish pace in the decline of active cases while Kerala and northeast states have emerged as regions of concern.
An IIT-Kanpur student recited the poem 'Hum Dekhenge' by Faiz against which a complaint was filed by Dr Vashimant Sharma, a temporary faculty member, and 16 others, including faculty members and students.
However, Covid infection can spread faster during the third wave if any new virulent variant of SARS-CoV-2 emerges, said Manindra Agarwal who is working with the Sutra Model -- the mathematical projection of the COVID-19 trajectory.
An analysis of WHO data shows that most of the countries with an older cohort of population and higher in the development index had a lower excess mortality rate than India.
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