As the New Year dawned, it looked like that the coronavirus pandemic was now tapering out. The number of Covid positive patients was declining rapidly and the death count was also going down, but by mid-February, reports of a fresh coronavirus outbreak from several parts of the country started pouring in again. The situation is getting worse in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The situation in Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Akola, some suburbs of Mumbai and Nagpur in Maharashtra is turning to be serious. If we look into the reasons, then one thing is clear that it is the negligent behaviour of the people that is responsible for this worsening situation.
If I were to talk about my state Maharashtra, hundreds of people attended the wedding functions that took place on Vasant Panchami’s Muhurat and people neither took any precaution nor used sanitizer. They behaved as if the Covid-19 crisis was over, and there was no need to be afraid of anything! About 500 to 600 people had gathered in each marriage hall. These marriages have proved to be the hubs of the Covid-19 outbreak. The hard work and dedication of the government officials, doctors, other agencies who had subdued the pandemic and got letters of appreciation for being Covid Warriors, have all gone in vain. The organisers of wedding ceremonies are responsible for the new crisis, the hotels and the wedding halls as well as the officials of municipal corporations are also largely responsible. This could not have happened without their collusion.
Besides, the careless attitude of people in putting on masks and not following social distancing norms is leading to a surge in coronavirus cases again. Even if people are putting on masks, they are wearing it improperly. It keeps hanging below their nose or below their chin. With this kind of poor discipline, the atmosphere is proving conducive for the spread of coronavirus pandemic. If even one person in the crowd is a Covid-19 patient, he will infect a multitude of people. How can we forget that we have lost many of our near and dear ones due to Covid-19 pandemic. I believe that it is very important to open the markets because it is related to the livelihood of the people but at the same time we have to adopt some rules otherwise how will we be able to protect ourselves from this deadly virus? If the Covid-19 cases continue to rise, it will directly affect our economy. We have come out of lockdown with great difficulty and the economy has somehow started coming back on track.
Under these circumstances, if the situation worsens again, it will not only affect those Covid-19 positive patients, but other people will also suffer. If the lockdown or curfew is required again, the situation will worsen. From the common man to traders, businessmen and industrialists, they all are still reeling under the impact of coronavirustriggered lockdown and the very thought of the lockdown again is enough to give them shudders. The condition of schools is also very bad. They are grappling with the challenges of recovering the fees from parents and paying their staff. It is unfortunate that people are not thinking about it. They neither care for their own lives nor of those of others. In my view, such reckless people are enemies of the society.
The situation warrants strict action against them so that they would desist from indulging in such careless activities again. Besides, the government should now step up vaccination drive too. At present, just the frontline warriors are being vaccinated. Covid-19 vaccination in India started on January 16 and one crore people have been vaccinated in a month. If the pace remains the same, then just imagine how long it will take to vaccinate all the needy people. It has been reported that ordinary people above the age of 50 years will be vaccinated in the middle of March. The question is why the speed of vaccination is not being stepped up when we have about 10 crore vaccines ready and the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are engaged in developing the vaccine at full capacity. Why so much delay in giving vaccines to people above 50 years of age? It is reported that the glitches in the app have slowed down the vaccination but now they are being corrected. So, should it take so much time in today’s technological age? Let me inform you that Tamil Nadu government has also started vaccinating the journalists because they too have been in the frontline war against the coronavirus pandemic. That is very encouraging.
And the second biggest thing is that since we have lakhs of vaccines, then why doses are not being made available in the open market. By open market, I do not mean drug stores but private hospitals. Private sector hospitals in our country are well equipped with resources and if their help is taken, the pace of vaccination will become faster and the burden on the government will also be reduced. Those who have the ability to spend money for the vaccine should go to a private hospital. And the government should make arrangements at its centres for those who do not have money for getting vaccinated at private hospitals. Now, the common people are also wishing that the vaccine should be made available in private hospitals and the government should fix the rate of the vaccine and ensure that no hospital charges more than the prescribed amount.
India has overcome many diseases by vaccinating its vulnerable population. It is due to the series of vaccination drives that the immune system of Indians is much stronger than people living in countries of Europe and America. This is the reason why the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been relatively low on us. We are the number one in the world in terms of vaccination. Our resources and our potential are immense. The vaccination of the population on a mass scale can definitely help us beat the coronavirus. But this does not mean that we abandon the path of prevention. We should not become guilty of criminal negligence. Take care of your life and do not play with the lives of others. Wear the mask in the right way. Follow the safe distancing norms. Be healthy and keep others healthy too.
The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.
