Amid a steep rise in cases of coronavirus infection, COVID-19 task force chief Dr NK Arora said a third wave of the pandemic has begun, but there’s no need to panic as the country is better equipped to deal with the situation this time.

In an exclusive interaction with Mirror Now, Arora said: “The number of cases has exponentially increased during the last one week. So, we are in the third wave; there is no doubt about it. Having said that, I would like to say there is no need to panic.”

COVID-19 third wave: Top health expert urges people to not panic

Explaining why people must not panic in the backdrop of rising COVID-19 case count, the top health expert said India’s drive to vaccinate adults against the virus infection is doing “really well”, adding that the programme to administer vaccine shots to children aged between 15 and 18 years kick-started on January 3 “on a very good note”. He further stated that during the last six months, massive efforts and investments have been made to strengthen the country’s health infrastructure.

When asked about Omicron threat to the healthcare system, the COVID-19 task force chief said that some metro cities, such as Delhi, are witnessing a surge in cases of the Omicron variant. Citing global experience, he said the highly contagious Omicron variant is likely to take over Delta in terms of the number of cases.

As many as 1,892 Omicron cases have ave been recorded across 23 states and UTs so far, as per the data shared Union Health Ministry on Tuesday. 

Of the 1,892 cases, 766 have recovered or migrated. As many as 568 Omicron cases have been detected in Maharashtra, 382 in Delhi, 185 in Kerala, 174 in Rajasthan, 152 in Gujarat and 121 in Tamil Nadu. The country’s Covid tally has increased to 3,49,60,261 with fresh 37,379 cases. The death toll rose to 4,82,017, as per the official data.