After being mauled by two consecutive corona pandemic waves, Chennaiites can now have a breather and avert the possibility of a third wave for the next three months, thanks to the 82 percent of the public getting exposed to the corona virus and the ongoing corona virus vaccination programme, a top government official monitoring the test positivity rate and the sero surveillance records from TN told DT Next.

The public can thwart a third wave at least till the month of November, if the public wear their masks and adhere to the social distancing norms. Every disaster leaves a silver lining, and this is something that the state top brass are pining hopes for the capital Chennai, disclosed the official giving a three months interim guarantee prevention from the third wave.

But if there is a new variant these efforts could go sans a defense mechanism, warns the official. The exposure to the virus and the vaccination are two key factors we are pinning our hopes on, but again this is a new science to deal with and the coronavirus has its own virulence, the official who has authored a couple of medical journals on covid 19 spread explained.

The closure of the places of worship for three consecutive days during week ends and the closure of markets was taken on these fundamentals so that the public can get used to a restricted lockdown than being pushed to a complete lockdown. The key is to control the test positivity rate from 5 to 10 percent, the official said.

“New lessons have been learnt and the third wave is hinted by around September – October period and this period is crucial for capacity building and we are on the job,” disclosed a senior Chennai corporation official.