As Covid cases rise, be alert and careful

From June 1 to June 12, the average number (calculated over a week’s period) of new Covid19 cases has more than doubled, driven by substantial increases in states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. The proportion of tests turning positive, too, has risen in many of these regions, suggesting the presence of an outbreak that is still growing. Nationally, however, fatality rates appear to be trending lower than what they were in the last week of May, and hospital admission rate data shared by some states (such as Maharashtra) show the cases are no more serious than they were in the January-february wave. The trend, at least so far, is not surprising as the virus spreading is an offshoot of the Omicron variant, which has been established to be far less dangerous than its predecessors.

But that does not mean the pandemic is any less of a threat -- outbreaks will still need people to isolate, threatening significant disruption in everyday activities, even if they no longer lead to lockdowns. Strong precautions are, therefore, important, especially four specific steps: First, mask discipline. Second, booster doses; this newspaper reported last week how as on June 8, around 78% of those eligible had not taken their third shots. Third, ventilation -businesses, schools and establishments running indoors must focus on ventilation, an easy and highyield transmission-control measure. Fourth, genome surveillance -- the government needs to keep the strongest of vigils on how the virus is mutating. In all likelihood, the virus will keep causing temporary spikes, but in case it mutates again to something more dangerous, we need to be prepared.