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COVID-19 Pandemic Is Not Over Yet: Virus Fatalities In Maharashtra Inch Towards 148K, Experts Warn of 4th Wave
"COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay, people will slowly learn to live with it," these were the words of the experts when India was on the verge of witnessing the third wave. The 3rd wave of the pandemic which the country witnessed in late 2021, was mild as most of the people were immunised against the virus infection. However, like other viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 has also gone through several mutations and thus it has come up with new variants of concern. Right now, India is looking forward to fighting the fourth wave of COVID-19, which according to the experts might hit the nation in the upcoming days.
In the latest report, the Union Health Ministry has stated that the country's worst-hit state - Maharashtra has crossed the 8-million mark, which is below The Netherlands and above Iran, ever since the outbreak of the pandemic (back in March 2020). According to the reports, Maharashtra logged a total of 2,760 fresh cases of the infections, taking the total number to 80,01,433.
What is a concern is that Maharashtra's Covid-19 fatalities have touched 147,976, which is just below France's 150,017, though that European nation figures at No 4 in the world with 3,21,15,604 total cases to date. The state's health officials have also stated that in the past 26 months, Pune and Mumbai have been the worst hit by Covid-19, both in terms of cases and deaths, among the 36 districts in the state.
The experts from around the country have stated that the current surge is not due to a new variant of COVID-19, which means people have immunity to fight the virus. This simplifies the answer that the current surge in cases is not a sign of a fourth wave in the country. However, the experts have warned that the country will face a new wave of pandemics when there will be a new variant. "A fourth wave is possible when there is a more virulent strain in the country than the ones which are already present. Also, this is not the right time to get rid of the masks and not follow the COVID safety protocols," experts were quoted as saying.
(With inputs from agencies)