Coronavirus pandemic is expected to spillover to 2021 seeing the rise in the number of cases on a daily basis, said Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The number of cases may rise for a few more months before the curve begins to flatten, said Guleria who is a key member of the central government's special taskforce on COVID-19.
"We can't say that the pandemic will not spillover to 2021 but what we can say is that the curve will be flatter instead of rising very steeply. We should be able to say the pandemic is ending early next year," Guleria said.
On the rising number of cases, Guleria said that the infection has now spread across India and has reached smaller cities and rural areas, which is why the numbers have increased. However, it is on expected lines, he added. He also said that a second wave can be seen in certain parts of the country amid resurgence of cases.
Guleria also said that many people have now gone into the stage of coronavirus behaviour fatigue. "Many people who were very strict in terms of complying with the Covid safety measures in the initial phases, now seem to hold the view that enough is enough," he added.
There are many in urban centres such as Delhi who are not wearing masks, gathering in crowds. Even the traffic jams are back to the pre-corona days. "All this ends up pushing our numbers," Guleria noted.
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