‘Omicron may trigger 3rd wave, peak in Feb’

IIT KANPUR STUDY

‘Omicron may trigger 3rd wave, peak in Feb’

Syed.Akbar@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:24.12.2021

Researchers at IIT Kanpur have predicted that a third wave, which may be triggered by the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus, may peak in India by February 3.

“Assuming that a third wave of Covid-19 hits the country, and following the trends happening around the world, this project report forecasts India’s third wave of Covid-19 to start around mid-December and peak in the beginning of February,” the report, published in online preprint server MedRxiv, said. The research report used the data of the first and second waves in India, and the current rise in cases triggered by Omicron in various countries, to predict a possible third wave in the country.

The researchers said the study “suggests the cases reach peak value after 735 days from our initial observation date, which is January 30, 2020, when India reported its first official case of Covid-19. So, the cases start rising around December 15, 2021, and the peak of the third wave will occur on Thursday, February 3, 2022”.