Omicron wave was of the short duration and high peak, but subsequent variants have not given any high wave, says an expert.
India Today - April 7, 2023 

Considering the experience of the last three waves of Covid that caused massive disruption to public life, concerns have yet again gripped the national capital amid the rising cases of Covid.

However, experts believe that the current surge in Covid cases is not indicative of any new wave as the surge is mild and may end in a few days, probably, by the second week of April, when the cases may begin to decline.

Nevertheless, those who are already suffering from some serious illness or those who are elderly patients are more prone to get infected.

The experts explained how the current surge in Covid cases is different from the last three waves.

"The pattern of the virus is the same as it was 3 months ago, even then the cases were increasing in the same way, this time due to the fear of influenza, people are going to the hospitals and during this, their corona test is also coming out positive. The reason is that more corona cases are being reported," said, Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder and Director of the Ujala Cygnus Hospitals.

“Regarding the cases of COVID-19 in India, it is impossible to say anything about any date as of now. With the rapidly rising figures of Covid-19 cases, they also keep on changing day by day. Depending on location, time, and many other factors, it looks different,” he said.

“The scientific world has made great strides in its understanding and technology to predict and prevent infections like Covid-19.

Scientists have speculated that the pattern of such viruses may differ in their genetic structure or in their infection prevention measures. This change happens on the basis of scientific research,” he stated.

“For example, the second wave of Covid-19 in India was affected by an infection with a different genetic makeup from the first wave.

Therefore, the prevention measures for infection in the second wave were also slightly different,” said Shuchin Bajaj.

“Understanding differences in virus patterns from past waves is essential because they can help us understand more and create measures to prevent virus infections. According to previous trends, the peak should be within 15 to 20 days, and then a downfall is expected,” said Covid expert Dr Raghuwinder Parashar.

"Number of cases of Covid is increasing, but the pace is slow and it does not appear to be highly infectious. Otherwise, numbers in the last two weeks could have been very high,” said Dr Jugal Kishore, Professor & Head of the Department of Community Medicine Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital.

“Peak with the Omicron variant should come within 1-1.6 months to cover any dense population. This Omicron variant is XBB 1.16 not going to give any wave effect. Omicron wave was of short duration and high peak, but subsequent variants have not given any high wave,” said Kishor.