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COVID-19 PANDEMIC WILL LINGER HERE UNTIL EVERYONE BECOMES COMPLETELY HYGIENIC

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 4/19/2021 11:06:48 AM

T K NANDANAN While the country is grappling with a devastating second wave of the coronavirus, millions of people are taking part in the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar often flouting the Covid norms. People are seen partaking the in Maha Kumbh sans masks or keeping social distance. This portends a grave situation ahead for the rest of the country. It may be recalled that hundreds of coronavirus- infected people are already falling dead and the flouting Covid protocol at this worst time would indeed spell doom for us. Though the authorities announced the formal conclusion of the Maha Kumbh on Saturday on the appeal of Prime Minister of Narendra Modi, irreparable damage has already been done and how the Covid is going to spread and how many are going to be affected, and as a result, how many are going to die will be a matter of great concern. As a matter of fact, the government already got a clear trend of the Covid surge and therefore the government should have issued a strict warning to the authorities concerned and prevailed upon them to shelve the Kumbh until at least next year.Now, what is the use of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted? It is pertinent to note that thousands of Kumbh visitors and hundreds of sadhus who attended Kumbh Mela at Haridwar have tested positive for the coronavirus disease. Worse still, a majority of the 49-lakh people who took part in the last two royal baths (Shahi Snan) held on the occasion of Somwati Amavasya on April 12 and Mesh Sankranti on April 14 were seen openly violating Covid norms and social distancing. Considering the explosive situation, several states have announced a number of urgent preventive steps to deal with the devotes returning from Kumbh Mela. Though these states have taken elaborate arrangements to test the devotees and asking them to go in to quarantine, it is yet to see how effective these steps would be. Meanwhile, the country witnessed unprecedented surge and within just 7 days 10 lakh new cases were reported and still the fresh covid cases are alarmingly increasing day by day. In this context, what worries more is that some states have started complaining of shortage of oxygen, medicine and beds. Admittedly, there is, prima facie, government’s lapse on the issue of Covid. Moreover, it is true that people are less afraid of coronavirus now and many have got used to it. In effect, people started throwing the caution to the wind. People thought that the Covid-19 pandemic would retreat and disappear in due course of time. But Coronavirus proved otherwise and it stayed back causing consternation. As a matter of fact, people began to lower guard against the pandemic, and thus, they stopped wearing mask, mingled with others without keeping the covid protocol. It is pertinent to note that Covid-19 will not go away easily. It will linger here until everyone learns and becomes to be completely hygienic.