Visitors at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)With Diwali round the corner, the Gurgaon district health department on Tuesday issued an advisory anticipating “gathering of a large number of people for worship, fairs & various festival functions”.
Pointing towards the rise in cases, the advisory placed a prohibition on “pooja or any festivity event” in containment zones and directed people to not “move unnecessarily out of home”. It also “strictly advised” people above 60 years of age with comorbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 to stay at home.
Stressing that strict social distancing protocols need to be followed during the festivities, the advisory further added that staggered timings and restricted entries should be considered for events, volunteers should be stationed to ensure thermal scanning, physical distancing, and the wearing of a mask. Closed-circuit cameras should also be “considered to monitor compliance of physical distance norms and the wearing of mask in crowded places.”
“Separate entry and exit must be ensured entrance to have mandatory hand hygiene thermal scanning and wearing of mask…No symptomatic person should be allowed in public places. Effective disinfection of surfaces must be ensured…No touch practice must be followed at all religious places.” States the advisory.
For individuals, the guidelines state that distance of 6 feet must be maintained in public places, and use of face cover or mask as well as abiding by “respiratory etiquettes” is mandatory.
Pointing out that Gurgaon has recorded an average of 250 to 300 cases between October 1 and October 20, with the number increased to between 300 and 400 cases between October 21 and October 30, the advisory acknowledges the “trend of positive cases” as “quite alarming” and goes on to lay our certain “points” to “focus on” “during festivity”.
Gurgaon recorded its highest number of Coronavirus cases so far in the month of October, with 9299 fresh cases emerging from 4,807 tests. Deputy Commissioner Amit Khatri, on Monday, had also appealed to residents of the district to abide by norms of social distancing and other precautions during the festival season. “People must be extra cautious given the changing weather as well as the festive season. The danger of Coronavirus has neither been eliminated nor reduced yet, so it is crucial that we take all precautions against the Coronavirus infection and are cautious,” stated the Deputy Commissioner.