Gurugram abandons caution despite Covid surge

Social distancing and wearing masks seem to have taken a back seat for city residents, who are crowding shopping areas, buses, parks and other parts of the city

Social distancing and wearing masks seem to have taken a back seat for city residents, who are crowding shopping areas, buses, parks and other parts of the city without taking necessary precautions to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

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The number of Covid-19 cases has surged drastically over the last few days, with the active case count currently at 3,707, as of Sunday. The district also reported a record single-day spike in cases — 529 new cases on Sunday — since the outbreak of the pandemic. In the last 10 days, the positivity rate of Gurugram has remained at about 12%, higher than the positivity rate recorded in August and September.

Studies show that preventive measures, such as maintaining six feet distance and mask discipline, are important to practice as the virus spreads when an infected person talks, sneezes or coughs. Even an asymptomatic Covid-19 patient can equally spread infection.

Despite the only solutions to handle pandemic, photos captured by HT show many, without masks, crowding the Khandsa wholesale market. Visitors to the Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29 were also captured on lens walking close to one another, without wearing masks.

Similarly, the situation of local buses and in city markets reflect the current attitude of city residents towards the pandemic.

According to the health department officials, behavioural change is required to slow down Covid-19 cases. “Visit any market in the evening and one can see people are no longer scared of the coronavirus. Cases will continue to rise as more people are moving out due to festival shopping or work,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer.

The precautionary norms for Covid-19 are self-regulatory, said Vinay Yadav, district secretary, Haryana Agriculture Marketing Board (HAMB), in charge of Khandsa mandi. “Social distancing and masks cannot be enforced upon anyone, especially in wholesale markets like Khandsa. The department has not issued any challan till now, owing to the rush in the market. The majority of the people coming to Khandsa are least careful about masks and social distancing even if our teams try to explain (importance of norms) to them.”

With markets witnessing a spurt in footfall due to the festive season, those running shops and trade associations said that people are only cautious to avoid being penalised for not wearing masks, and that most of them are not concerned about the virus.

Tej Singh, president, Vyapar Kendra association, said, “People are callous in wearing mask and maintaining physical distance. There is no fear among them unless they see police issuing challans for not wearing masks. Since people are actively coming to market for festival shopping, we have told the shopkeepers to practice safety norms. It is, however, difficult to keep an eye on everyone.”

The president Udyog Vihar phase 1 market association, Harinder Rana, agreed with Singh. “There has been no social distancing in markets. Some are defiant in wearing masks. But nothing can be said to them.”

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has issued about 30,000 fines for mask violation, of which 12,000 fines were issued from August till October. Almost Rs 15 lakh has been collected in challans, according to MCG officials, but people still continue to flout norms.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that they are issuing fines of Rs 500 to those found not wearing a facemask. Each station house officer has been directed to ensure there should be no gathering of more than 50 people in areas under their jurisdiction. “Awareness campaigns are going on in all the sectors through resident welfare association members and we are appealing to the residents not to move without masks and to maintain social distancing,” he said.