Srinagar 7 April (KNB): With Kashmir valley facing the second wave of Covid-19, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday warned that the new wave could be worse than the first.
Dr Nisar said that second waves of pandemics have been harsher, adding “We have witnessed in the past how the second wave of 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was deadlier than the first one. The first wave occurred in the spring which was relatively mild. A far deadlier second wave erupted in the fall months which infected 500 million and killed 50 million people globally.”
He said that Covid-19 is following the same suit. “The second waves of coronavirus in the United States and Europe were uniformly worse than the first,” Dr Nisar said.
He further said that Kashmir is currently under the grip of a second wave and the cases are rising and hospitalizations too. “And if countermeasures are not put in place, we could end up having a situation which could be worse than what we saw last year,” said Dr Nisar.
He further added “This is because the vast majority of people in the valley are still susceptible to the virus and the virus will go where it is given room to run, and will find people who are vulnerable to infection.”
Dr Nisar said that people have got pandemic fatigue. They are tired of restrictions, wearing masks, being away from family and friends, and increasingly fed up with the new normal routines. “They have thrown caution to the wind,” he said, “Many people don’t wear masks and don’t care for social distancing.”
He further said that this behavior would facilitate transmission of the virus that could reignite an outbreak.
“Another factor that could make the new wave worse is the emergence of new variants.” said Dr Nisar, “Some of the variants can make the virus more infectious, deadly, or even resistant to vaccines and treatment.”
“We should not take much comfort from the fact that so far in the second wave, the incidents of severe cases and deaths are considerably lower than the first spike. The second wave is infecting young people in a larger proportion than the first one. And, after a couple of weeks, many of them are likely to infect the elder members of their family and when that happens, serious illnesses and deaths will go up,” said Dr Nisar. (KNB)