Stop all political, religious gatherings, scientists urge govts

‘Most certainly the third wave will come, if we invite it’

Distinguished scientist and chairman of National Academy of Sciences-India, Hyderabad chapter, Ch. Mohan Rao on Wednesday urged governments to put a halt to all kind of political, religious and other ‘non-productive’ gatherings along with keeping the cinema halls and clubs shut to prevent any further outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Most certainly the third wave will come, if we invite it. We must be careful to see that cases due to people gathering do not rise any further because it will only lead to more mutations in the virus,” he warned, opening the webinar on COVID-19 pandemic in which top scientists from across the country participated. Dr. Rao, also a former CSIR-CCMB director, said any COVID variant can cause harm “only if it enters the body”, therefore the simple solution is to stop that is by wearing face masks properly, maintaining social distancing and washing hands frequently.