While stating that the response of  the Central government was nothing short of being ‘disastrous’ during the first and the second waves of the COVID19 pandemic, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stated on June 22 that it is too early to celebrate the end of Coronavirus .

“The government should refrain from celebrating the end of the second wave, it is premature to do so. The threat of a third wave is very much around,” Gandhi said while responding to questions posed by the journalists in a virtual press conference.

Explained: What is the third wave of COVID19? Will it hit India? Are kids at greater risk?

“The government should ramp up the medical facilities to be prepared in advance and should resist from being self-congratulatory,” he added.

In the presser, the Congress leader also released a white paper on the COVID19 situation in which he, on the behalf of the health experts, suggested measures to mitigate the ‘third wave’. 

Also Read: What Health Ministry’s latest COVID19 guidelines suggest for treatment of mild, asymptomatic cases

The term ‘white paper’ denotes a report or guide booklet published by an organisation that informs the readers about a complex issue and presents the organisation’s opinion on the issue. 

“The aim of this white paper on COVID19 is not finger-pointing at the government but to help the nation prepare for the third wave of infection. The whole country knows that a third wave will strike,” Gandhi said.

Explained: What is ‘long COVID’ — how is vaccination expected to affect such patients?

Gandhi also stated that government should be open-minded about criticism and added that vaccination is key to fight the pandemic. “Central pillar is vaccination. It is very important that we have an aggressive vaccination strategy. The government must be prepared… have hospitals, oxygen, meds ready. If you think the second wave is bad, the third one will be worse,” Gandhi stated.

Rise in COVID19 cases in a day under 50K for first time in 3 months

Meanwhile, India posted 42,640 new COVID19 cases today, on June 22, which is significant because it is for the first time in 90 days that the cases have fallen below 50,000.

Also, a total of 1,167 COVID19 deaths were reported today, the lowest since April 14, in the last 24 hours as per the Union Health Ministry.

With these numbers, the total number of coronavirus cases in India reached 2,99,77,861 while the total number of fatalities soared to 3,89,302.