India could be hit by a third wave of COVID-19 as soon as this month, with cases reaching up to 150,000 a day, it has been warned.

This chilling warning comes from researchers Mathukumalli Vidyasagar and Manindra Agrawal from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Hyderabad and Kanpur, respectively, who had accurately predicted the previous second wave of the disease in April-May.

However, the researchers, using a mathematical model, have predicted that the third wave would be weaker than the second one, which saw up to 400,000 new cases reported daily.

Other experts have issued similar warnings in the past, saying that the third wave could clock over 100,000 daily COVID-19 cases.

As of yesterday, there are more than 420,000 active COVID-19 cases in India. The state of Kerala alone is responsible for more than 51 per cent of the infections, while other southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Marasashtra are also reporting high daily virus cases.

The country has thus far administered more than 470 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. However, only seven per cent of the country's population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Indian health experts have previously warned that the third wave is inevitable, especially when the government loosened its restrictions, and the people began flouting rules in place pertaining to wearing face masks, and practising social distancing.

With more than 31.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 424,000 deaths, India remains the second worst hit country by the pandemic, after the US.


Source: India Today
Photo source: Al Jazeera