BHUBANESWAR: After the scorching summer and the monsoon rains, morning walkers have always looked forward to winter to take in the fresh air. However, the fear of catching a cold or
Covid-19, people’s general discomfort with wearing masks while walking and, more recently, the mist hanging in the air has deterred many from stepping out. Those who don’t wish to break their regimen, have found a simple solution — changing the timing of their walk or exercise.
Lalatendu Satpathy, 40, a
socio-political activist, who walks and exercises outdoors for about 90 minutes every day, said, “My daily routine is upset on the days when there is mist in the air. I usually go out after 7pm when most of the mist usually clears up. Luckily for us in Bhubaneswar, there has not been much mist and the chill is yet to set in. But some senior citizens I know are avoiding going out for exercise owing to the fear of catching Covid.”
The ones, who got back on the walking tracks, once the lockdown was lifted, are also waiting for the skies to get clearer. “I resumed my morning walks in the park close to my home after the lockdown was lifted as I am not comfortable on the roads because of vehicular movement,”
Santosh Kumar Mohanty, additional director general of GST investigation, who has rarely missed out on walking every day for the last five years, said. He usually visits the park after 6.30am when the mist starts clearing and the parks are nearly 70% full.
Singer Susmita Das, 55, who is a fitness enthusiast, couldn’t agree more. “The number of visitors to the parks is comparatively less as most prefer to exercise at home in the current situation. They also fear catching a cold, which should be avoided at all costs in the wake of Covid. Though I am always a little late, the park is not as full as it used to be earlier,” Das, a regular at the Biju Patnaik Park for a decade now, said. “It is also difficult to walk briskly wearing a mask,” she reasoned.
However, Dr PR Mohapatra, head of the department of pulmonary medicine, AIIMS, cautions that the mask should always be on and all Covid-appropriate behaviours should be followed when one steps out. He said, “Though the exposure to cold affects those having asthma and other respiratory problems, they can go in the later part of the day or use their discretion.” He added, “Even those infected with Covid-19 should exercise outdoors as it is part of their physical rehabilitation process. They will gradually develop the tolerance to the prevalent weather condition. Open air is always better than indoors,” he said.
The Met department has predicted that the current weather condition is likely to prevail for the next few days. HR Biswas, head of the regional IMD centre, Bhubaneswar, said, “At present, mist-type weather is prevalent in the state. Dense fog is not expected. There is a forecast of shallow to moderate fog in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack over the next five days.”