Will fourth wave of Covid hit India? Here's what top health expert says

New Delhi, Jun 10: As the Covid-19 cases crossed 7,000-mark in India after 99 days, there is a fear of a fourth wave of coronavirus hitting the country even as life is limping towards normalcy after two years.

However, a top health expert has said that India is unlikely to be affected by the infection unless a new variant of Covid is reported. Speaking to news agency ANI, Director of Internal Medicine, Max Healthcare, Dr Rommel Tickoo said, "India is unlikely to witness the fourth wave unless and until a new COVID-19 variant is reported that has different characteristics from the previous variants."

According to him, the cases are rising because of tourism activities. "A lot of people are travelling to places, going for holidays, vacations and things are almost getting back to normal. So, this surge is expected in quite a few states," ANI quoted her as saying.

He claims that the country is endemicity and will not witness any major surge. "We have almost reached the stage of endemicity in India due to which there will be no major surge in India," said Dr Tickoo.

He claims that people should not worry, but take necessary precautions. "As long as the disease is mild and no complications are reported, like in the case of pneumonia earlier, we should not be worried. But, as I said earlier, this viral disease will stay here for some more time. We need to be extremely careful and take all precautions like to follow government guidelines and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour," added Dr Tickoo.

India recorded 7,584 fresh Covid-19 cases with 24 deaths in the last 24 hours, Union Health Ministry data said on Friday.