Harsh Vardhan answers if coronavirus cases will rise in India in winters

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • Flipboard
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
Harsh Vardhan answers if coronavirus cases will rise in India in winters
Harsh Vardhan answers if coronavirus cases will rise in India in winters

New Delhi : There is a common belief that coronavirus increases during winters and India is all set to welcome the cold weather in couple of weeks. And people are afraid that COVID-19 will spike again in the nation in the absence of a medicine.

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan also claimed that there is a good possibility that the number of cases of coronavirus may rise during the winters in India.

“SARS Cov 2 is a respiratory virus and the transmission of respiratory viruses is known to increase in colder weather. Respiratory viruses thrive better in cold weather and low humidity. There is another fact that needs to be kept in mind. During winter there is a tendency of overcrowding in residential apartments which may increase transmission. So in Indian context, it would not be wrong to assume that the winter season may see an increase in the number of cases,” the minister said, addressing his weekly social media interaction programme Sunday Samvaad.

He also quoted an example of UK where the coronavirus infection had spiked specially during the winters. "Hence, we are emphasising on the precautionary measures which are easy to follow. Wear the mask and maintain social distancing," the minister said, sounding a note of caution.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recently warned Delhi is likely to report around 15,000 Covid-19 cases daily in winter.

“Winter months that make respiratory illnesses severer...Patients may come from outside Delhi in large numbers… Patients coming from distant areas are likely to be more serious. In addition, with festival-related gatherings, there could be a sudden rise in cases. Therefore, it is recommended that Delhi should prepare for a daily surge of approximately 15,000 positive cases and make arrangements for inpatient admissions of patients with moderate and severe disease roughly amounting to 20% of this surge,” the NCDC said in a document related to the revised Covid-19 strategy for Delhi.