Irresponsible citizens must start wearing a mask again
The dean of Goa Medical College, Dr Shivanand Bandekar has warned that social gathering venues can become COVID hotspots. He said about a hundred people were reported to have been infected after attending a wedding. The hosts and guests must have compromised on the mask wearing and social distancing. Neglecting to wear a mask and maintain social distancing has led to a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases in the state, which after rising to several hundreds per day had come down to two digits. The marriage season is on in the state and many weddings that were postponed in the wake of the lockdown following the coronavirus pandemic are being celebrated in the new season. Since marriages are once in a lifetime events people are tempted to celebrate them in a grand way with their relations and friends. There is a growing tendency to throw caution to the winds and go about life normally. You can see educated and uneducated people behaving negligently alike.
Mass infections result from large gatherings and if people do not take care to avoid attending large gatherings, there would be a bigger surge in COVID-19 cases and the hospitals would be flooded again with patients. The police must enforce the penalties for not wearing masks more strictly. However, it is largely up to the people to take precautions because policemen cannot watch every street, lane and by-lane every minute. Conscious citizens should work in groups to force irresponsible citizens to wear masks. As Dr Bandekar says, COVID-19 should not be taken as lightly as the common cold; it is a very complex disease. There is no cure for it yet except prevention. The state has managed to contain the virus so far, as the number of cases has been falling steadily. Though the total number of coronavirus cases in Goa is inching towards the 50,000 mark, the state can take pride in ensuring over 95 percent recovery. Goa now has only 20 COVID-19 patients on ventilators in the two designated wards of the GMC. There is none in ESI Hospital, the other designated hospital in South Goa.
Life has resumed but it is not normal. The religious festivities passed off without any big surge in the state. With tourism opening up, tourists have contributed to the daily COVID-19 count, though their number is not significant. The resumption of economic activities has led a number of Goans to lower the guard against the pandemic, which is unfortunate. Weddings are not the only large gatherings; there are other social gatherings as well as political gatherings where mask wearing and social distancing are given a go-by. Though there are no political meetings, with the announcement of Zilla Panchayat elections it is not uncommon to see large gatherings of political workers and voters at the offices of politicians. It has been alleged that freebies are being distributed at such gatherings in order to influence votes.
With India still some months away from developing or receiving a vaccine against COVID-19 on a mass scale, the Goans must continue to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. The educated Goans have to be responsible in this regard first. Only then the other Goans can be made to observe precautions. A number of people can be seen moving in public places without masks or maintaining social distance. It is a pity to find such people among walkers on the pavements, in bazaars and in the housing colonies. Though the authorities have been imposing fines on those found without masks, it has not proven deterrent. The casual, negligent and irresponsible citizens who do not wear a mask or maintain social distancing are playing with their own lives, for it has been proven that the coronavirus gets inside a person through nose and mouth. Meanwhile, the state government too must not lower its guard. The policing for enforcement of mask wearing and social distancing must be intensified. The leaders of all political parties must not encourage political gatherings for the purpose of influencing voting at the Zilla Parishad and municipal elections. The restriction on the number of guests at weddings too must be strictly enforced.