am not going to get into the number of cases in India at the moment and try to explain the gravity of the situation at present. I live in the state of Maharashtra which is the worst affected state in India.Are the citizens ready to accept the severity of the pandemic? A general perception among us is that meeting a few people every now and then in public places is of no consequence to the situation.our mentality has changed. After more than three months of being forced to stay in,people feel it's now time to move on. The question is do we really need to move out like we used to before? I have seen huge crowds at Marine drive,Bandstand and carter roads a few times during the past one month. None of the people are out there due to a work commitment. They all have decided to fight the virus when they possibly can.
There are two reasons why some people are over the pandemic. The first-personal frustration. the feeling of being locked up inside for an undecided time period can scare even the most daring. The truth we need to accept is that there is no alternative to staying indoors. The second reason is the mentality. The more fortunate class of people feel they can afford to take the risk to step out regularly. The virus does not see any barrier though. The irony is that they are the same people who have received one of the best educations during the course of their lives.
Now let's talk about the people who may never get over the pandemic.- migrant labourers and the lower class. Not a single star of hope hovers over the horizon for them. They Are struggling to make ends meet,depending on only petty government schemes to get some relief. Coronavirus for them is like a severe cyclone which has swept away their jobs,means of livelihood and future prospects leaving them helpless and deserted. The rich perceive it as a flu which is well within their control.
I have seen men and women in the sensitive category wearing a mask only for the formality of it. They have loads of experience in life and are ready to give their advice on everything. However, wearing something for their own safety seems like a very difficult task.Mentally, they feel they are stronger than the virus.
A person who moves out every single day may not get the virus whereas a person who moved out just once may get infected. It's just a matter of luck. However, if we lose our seriousness for the pandemic,the situation will only get worse. Getting back to reality then is hard.
You may be over the virus but the virus is not over you
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