A third wave?

In what signals the possible emergence of a third wave of Covid-19 globally, the number of new cases of the infection across the world rose last week for the first time in seven weeks. The World Health Organization attributes this rise to relaxation in public health measures; continued circulation of variants; and people letting down their guard. At a recent news briefing in Geneva, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the upward trend is taking place everywhere in the world, apart from Africa and the Western Pacific region, while another top official, Dr Michael Ryan, warned that the virus is unlikely to be eradicated this year.

What appears to have let people and authorities the world over sneak in complacency is the arrival of the vaccine to deal with the reigning pandemic, even though the vaccination process has just begun – and that too in just a couple of dozen countries of the world. That’s why the WHO director general has felt the need to warn that “if countries rely solely on vaccines, they are making a mistake”. Pakistan is among the countries which lifted Covid restrictions significantly last week – bringing almost all types of activities to near normal – even though it has not even vaccinated the most at-risk community, the health workers, completely. No surprise, therefore, that local health experts fear a resurge in the number of

Covid cases that may compel the government to declare a third wave of the virus in the country.
The world health body’s “stern warning” that “this virus will rebound if we let it” must be taken seriously. There is need to understand that basic public health measures should “form the foundation of the response”; and that the prescribed SOPs related to use of face mask and hand-washing as well as social distancing must continue to be followed in letter and spirit.