NEW DELHI: Will the national capital witness another surge of COVID-19 cases or has the the city been successful in keeping its guard on? A clearer picture on a possible of third wave of the pandemic will emerge in the next two weeks, believe experts.
"The next two weeks are crucial. Many people have travelled and met family members during Independence Day and Rakshabandhan. There is high probability of exposure and if that has happened, then its impact can be seen in 15 days. Those who are immunised may not show symptoms, but can be carriers of the virus and pass onto others," said Dr Lalit Kant, former scientist and head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division at ICMR.
Another senior expert from AIIMS added that chances of another drastic surge in Delhi are not very high.
"In the second wave, maximum people tested positive. Those who had it in the summer are unlikely to get infected again in six months. So there will be some rise due to the festive season, but not as much as was seen in April. But again, this virus is very unpredictable to make any future calculation," said the expert.
On Tuesday, the city saw 37 new COVID cases out of over 64,000 samples collected and the positivity rate stood at 0.06 per cent.
Dr Kant added that even with fewer cases, there should not be complacency in terms of precautions, as a new mutant can emerge any time.
"If it doesn’t rise now, then again may be in October. A close watch is to be kept by the government on new strains or mutants. Mutation can happen any time. It doesn't happen on any fixed date or time. Though in Delhi many got infected, more than half have received at least the first vaccine dose. Yet, precautions need to be maintained," he said.
Efforts made to contact the Delhi government's health department officials for their take on this did not bear fruit and calls went unanswered.
COVID vaccine stock to last just another day: Delhi government
The national capital's stock of COVID-19 vaccines will last for a day, according to the Delhi government's vaccination bulletin.
Delhi, as on Tuesday, had 3,79,030 vaccines in its balance stock - 1,76,760 doses of Covaxin and 2,02,270 doses of Covishield - it said.