Spurred by Delta variant, third Covid wave is getting stronger globally

The global third wave of Covid-19 is here and getting stronger by the day with the daily new cases of the novel coronavirus touching 500,000 in the last two months. Experts are attributing this rise to the Delta variant, first detected in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that this surge was a warning for India and the rest of the world.   

Major European countries and the US are contributing to the third wave. Situation in Russia's situation is nearly as bad as it was in winter with over 167 cases per million, second highest in the world currently. The pace of new cases building up in the US, UK and Spain is worrying. Good rates of vaccination may result in fewer fatalities and controlling the spread.  

India and some other emerging peers are adding a significant number of cases each day, but their curve is falling.These include Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and South Africa. Each of these countries including India is factoring in a surge in coming months. Experts in India have said that the while a third wave may be imminent in August, it is likely to be milder than the second wave. 

Finally, back in Asia too many countries are also caught in the third wave. Japan, which is hosting the Olympics this summer, has been witnessing a spike. Vietnam, which was a success story to date, is seeing an unusual gradual growth. Iran, which was one of the first countries to witness a grave situation last year, is on the upswing again. The curve is moving up in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. Clearly, the pandemic, as data shows, is far from over and countries, including India, have to keep their guard up.