Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Said that Coronavirus Cases Might Rise During Winters

Ahead of the start of winters, experts are signalling that the number of Covid-19 cases might witness an unexpected surge as the mercury drops. Countries like Russia and the United Kingdom are experiencing the second wave of Covid-19 enhanced by winter. The Union health minister, Harsh Vardhan said that there is no reason to dismiss the possibility of the same for India. While VK Paul, the Covid-19 expert panel head also laid stress that India must be prepared for a second wave in the winter. 

The minister said addressing his weekly Sunday Samvaad, “SARS Cov 2 is a respiratory virus and the transmission of respiratory viruses is known to increase during the colder weather. Respiratory viruses thrive better in cold weather and low humidity conditions. There is another fact that needs to be kept in mind. During winter, there is a tendency of overcrowding in residential dwellings which may increase transmission. So, in the Indian context, it would not be wrong to assume that the winter season may see an increase in the number of cases.” 

According to the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK, winter can be extremely challenging and has predicted a peak in hospital admission and deaths in January and February 2021. 

The National Center for Disease Control(NCDC) has recently warned Delhi that it is likely to report 15,000 new cases daily in the colder months. 

Health minister also emphasized that there is nothing to worry about the virus as long as you are following the precautions prescribed by the government.

The precautions necessary are:

• Wearing the face mask whenever stepping out of the house.
• Maintaining social distance. 
• Sanitizing the hands after touching surfaces. 
• Regular washing of hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. 
• Not touching the hair, face and mask when out.

In November and December, India is going to witness more unlocking. The spread of festive unlocking will go-on in November and December with more trains, flights, inter-state travel, which might surge Covid-19 cases. Many European countries are now going under the second lockdown to look over the number of cases.

Also, with the festival season coming up, Harsh Vardhan also said that no religion wishes that festivals be celebrated by putting one’s life in danger. He said, “There is no need to congregate in large numbers to prove your faith or your religion.” “You can pray to your gods at your homes. I would suggest that all of you celebrate festivals with your families.” 

Over to you. 

The overall recovery rate for India is 86.78%, the highest in the world. The fatality rate is 1.53% which is the lowest in the world. But, with the expert panel of India warning a hike in the number of cases, it is important to keep up with the precautionary measures, and celebrating the festivities while being at home as much as possible with our closed ones.