When everything went almost back to normal after the first wave of coronavirus, who knew that complacency was going to be so heavy? This pandemic once more took a reverse gear and started gaining ground at the end of March. This time the virus is more deadly and contagious. This variant of the virus is termed as B.1.617. It has ravaged the country in such a way that every day 3 lakhs plus cases are recorded and causing nearly 4000 deaths.

Seeing this deadly second wave in the country, the principal scientific advisor Dr. Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan had warned the country regarding an “inevitable” third wave of coronavirus. He also said that if we prepare and take strong measures then this third wave may not happen in all the places or indeed anywhere at all.

The third wave is currently under discussion. Seeing the trends of Covid cases it seems that after having the peak on 6^th May, now the daily cases have entered a decline phase. If the current trends continue, it is expected that by July, India would reach the same level of case counts as in February. If there is a fresh surge after that, and continues for weeks or months, then it would be considered as the third wave.

How to prepare for the third wave?

After getting battered by the second wave of coronavirus now it is time to prepare for the third wave well in advance. The third wave is said to be dangerous for children, so learning from lapses that were encountered during the second we all need to be ready for a third one.

1. Masking: What was widely observed after the first wave of coronavirus that people had stopped using masks. Many people were not wearing masks in public places. So, this mistake should not be repeated and everyone should wear proper masks whenever in public place.
2. Social Distancing: People on their part started flouting COVID rule of social distancing. There were gatherings of all kind after the first wave and no one really think of following the social distancing norms. This time a proper covid appropriate behavior needs to be adopted even after the second waves plunges in order to avoid this third one.
3. Legislation: Even after knowing the importance of masks and maintaining social distancing norms there are people who don’t follow these rules on their own. So, to deal with such people there should strict laws that penalizes any defaulter. There should be restrictions in unnecessary public gatherings which were the prime spreader of the virus during the second wave. To avoid a devastating third wave new laws should be framed and also well implemented.
4. Healthcare Preparation: The biggest flaw that was seen during the second wave was ill-prepared healthcare system. There was chaos everywhere, whether be it oxygen supply, search of remdesivir or hospital beds. Mostly patients died due to the dearth of oxygen. This time the administration of all states and union territories should start preparing for the third wave well in advance so that again the country do not get to see those heart-wrenching images of hapless people dying outside hospitals. The government should start arranging more beds and ensure proper supply of oxygen and required medicines to be well in stock so that the there is no black marketing and exploitation. More make-shift Covid facilities need to be built with enough medical staff.
5. Vaccination: This is the most important resort to avoid a deadly third wave. During the first wave the country did not had vaccines but in second wave despite having vaccines still we had to face a terrible situation. To avoid this situation to repeat itself in the form of third wave, the government should start vaccination in a fast pace and it should ensure that all the citizens of India are vaccinated in a targeted time.

“People learn from their mistakes”, everyone must have heard this saying, but we need to bring this to action and better prepare for the third wave. If we properly follow all the above points, we will definitely not let this virus further subjugate us and yes let's do it to save the children of our country.