In an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Dr. Rahul Pandit, Member, Maharashtra Covid Task Force, said there is no alert for a third wave in the state in 2-4 weeks but we need to be prepared if it comes earlier than expected. Excerpts:

Q: Are you scaring people and telling them to stay at home by saying a third Covid wave could hit the state in 2 to 4 weeks? Or is this based on hard evidence? Are you being alarmist? Or is this a wake-up call?

I don’t think we’re being alarmist. Nor are we trying to scare people. Let me put this in the right perspective. The discussion was about the preparation for the third wave. The mathematical model predicts a 100-120 day time gap between two waves. But models are models, we need to look at real-life scenarios.

Countries like the US have had 14 to 15 weeks of gap between two waves. But the UK had a gap of less than eight weeks. We need to be prepared because we have the delta variant. At no point did we say the third wave will come in two weeks or four weeks. It’s very difficult to guess.

We have to go by some mathematical models and then look around the world and see what other waves have been like. And that’s how. The whole discussion was – let’s be prepared even if it comes a little early. We should not be caught off guard. Nothing beyond that.

Q: Markets, restraints in Mumbai are getting crowded and people are lowering their guard. Is that a warning?

There was no timeframe for the third wave. But we need to keep enforcing Covid-appropriate behaviour. I’m not saying that the economy should not open up. But people stepping out should double-mask themselves.