Srinagar: There is good news for the people of Kashmir. By the end of this month, the third wave of Covid-19, driven by the Omicron variant, will be over. Dr Rouf Hussain Rather, Community Medicine specialist and in charge of Covid data analysis in Kashmir, says that there are very less chances of any big wave going to hit the Valley again, though small waves may come and go in the future, causing only mild disruption in routine life.
Dr Rather said that that as per the data, the infection in the community is lowering day by day. He said the test positivity rate which was above 10 percent a month ago is now about 4 percent in Kashmir Valley.
“The number of hospital admissions is also low. Recovery rate is much better. By the end of this month, the third wave would be at the lowest. There are very less chances that any big wave would target the population again,” he said.
COVID 19 cases in J&K were at their lowest ebb in November last year. They began to go up as the Omicron-driven third wave began to spread globally, arriving in Kashmir a few days later. The highly transmissible virus infected people, but stayed for a lesser period as compared to the second wave.
According to the sero-study conducted by the government, more than 90 percent of healthcare and police workers in J&K have developed antibodies, which significantly lessen the severity of the infection if they do contract it. About 84 percent of Kashmir’s population, too, has developed antibodies to fight the virus, the study conducted in July, at the peak of the second wave, found.
Dr Rather said that Kashmir is now well equipped to fight the virus. People have antibodies, Covid Appropriate Behaviour is being maintained at a better level, and the virus, too, seems to be no longer as lethal given how it has been spreading over the last two years.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz