Third wave could hit India in 6 to 8 weeks: AIIMS Chief

While India is still recovering with second wave of Coronavirus at it’s pace, the AIIMS chief said that the third wave is inevitable and could hit the country in the next 6 to 8 weeks.

While speaking to NDTV, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria said, “As we have started unlocking, there is again a lack of Covid-appropriate behaviour. We don’t seem to have learnt from what happened between the first and the second wave. Again crowds are building up… people are gathering. It will take some time for the number of cases to start rising at the national level. But it (third wave) could happen within the next six to eight weeks… may be a little longer.”

“It all depends on how we go ahead in terms of Covid-appropriate behaviour and preventing crowds,” he added.

“That (vaccination) is the main challenge. A new wave can usually take up to three months but it can also take much lesser time, depending on various factors. Apart from Covid-appropriate behaviour, we need to ensure strict surveillance. Last time, we saw a new variant – which came from outside and developed here – led to the huge surge in the number of cases. We know the virus will continue to mutate. Aggressive surveillance in hotspots is required,” the AIIMS chief said.