Celebrating during COVID: How organisers are making it safe

The daily number of new Covid-19 cases in India has seen a declining trend over the past few weeks and has come down to less than 50,000 from a high of over 97,000 daily cases only a month ago. The government says India has crossed the Covid peak and the pandemic may ebb away by February. Here is how different communities are gearing up to make the upcoming festive season safe for people.

With the festive season just starting, there are fears that India may see another major spike in cases with festive gatherings becoming the norm. While the state governments have formulated Covid-19 protocols to handle such gatherings, there are serious doubts on how strictly they will be implemented.

The Durga Puja season is here and every year the festival is celebrated with great pomp and joy across West Bengal. However, this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several restrictions have been imposed. Besides, the Calcutta High Court had earlier declared all Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata to be non-visitor zones, but now 45 visitors have been allowed by the court.
Everyone will have to undergo thermal screening and wear masks. The committee has also ensured that physical distancing is maintained.

What Durga Puja is to West Bengal, Navratra is to Gujarat. Mass garbas involving participation of thousands have become a much-awaited feature of the Navratra celebrations in Gujarat.
However, this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most garba organisers in Gujarat have decided to cancel their festivities and keep things simple. The committee has decided not to hold Navratra celebrations, except the daily aarti and very limited gathering where social distancing is ensured.

Chittaranjan Park in the national capital is a replica of West Bengal in New Delhi during Durga Puja. Every year during Puja, this posh South Delhi locality becomes the go-to destination for people from all walks of life to attend its famous pandals.
However, this year the elders have decided not to organise big pandals and limit the celebrations to prayers.

Asked about the challenges that the festive seasons
poses before India's fight against Covid-19, Dr Shashank Joshi, member Covid-19 taskforce of Maharashtra said the recent experience of Maharashtra and Kerala show that even small gatherings during festivities can create large problems.
"The festive season along with vector-borne disease and pollution can be a triple whammy if we don't take precautions. We have to be self-reliant and self-protective," he said.
Dr Joshi explained that this is a crucial time because India has just started seeing a flattening of the Covid-19 curve. "We can't afford to have a second peak as we have seen in the US and Europe. We are already broken and fractured, we can't afford another peak."