Taming the 3rd Wave

From Current Affairs Notes for UPSC » Editorials & In-depths » This topic

Background:

The Omicron variant of the SARS CoV 2 was first detected in Karnataka. Within a month, this new variant has started driving the upsurge of COVID-19 cases in India.
The massive 2nd wave was driven by the Delta variant, which eventually became endemic. Between July and December, India experienced a lull in the number of cases. For the most part of 2021-end, the caseload remained below the 10,000 mark.
However, on December 29th, India recorded over 13,000 cases. By January 6th, the daily number of cases crossed 90,000.
India has been testing at a steady rate, but the test-positivity rate (percentage of tests that give a positive for COVID-19) has risen. This confirms the onset of the 3rd wave of the pandemic.
Some states are currently an exception to this trend- Kerala, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. These stat