BHOPAL: Indoor gatherings and assemblies, be it political, social or cultural, are much more responsible for Covid-19 spread than the outdoor public rallies.
Meetings, parties, weddings receptions, birthday celebrations held in indoor spaces are contributing to Coronavirus tally, while the chances of infection spread is comparatively less in mass gatherings held in open areas.
Medical experts maintain that the duration of face-to-face interactions in halls, auditorium, theater and enclosed buildings are much more than open spaces and for this reason infection spreads rapidly in enclosed areas. The regions, where elections were held and a large public rallies were held, did not report a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. However, birthday parties, wedding receptions, pool parties, gatherings in clubs, auditoriums are leading to a surge in cases.
Assembly elections were held in Bihar, by-elections in Madhya Pradesh and these two states did not witness a sharp hike in coronavirus cases during the poll.
Dr Sarman Singh, Director AIIMS, said “Indoor meetings provide more scope of face to face interaction for longer periods and thus there are more chances of people getting infected with Covid-19 virus, while in open spaces like lawns and ground, the chances of getting infected are thin. This is the reason, election-bound states did not report any hike in coronavirus cases while states like Maharashtra and others are seeing a spike in Covid-19 cases again.” The eight states and Union territories - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Haryana - had been displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases, with a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average of 2.29 per cent.
Speaking on the same lines, Dr AK Shrivastava, medical superintendent of TB Hospital, said that indoor gatherings are more responsible for infection spread in comparison to out-door public rallies, meetings, assemblies. “Reason is that in indoor spaces, face-to-face interaction period among participants happens to be longer, while this is not the case in political public rallies and other gatherings. This could be understood from the fact that poll bound areas did not report rise in corona cases,” said Shrivastava.
Dr Lokendra Dave, HOD Pulmonary Medicines of Gandhi Medical College (GMC), stressing on the adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines said, “Public should realize their responsibility and accountability as far compliance with the Covid protocol is concerned. Government has done its best and now the people have to reciprocate.”
Opening of restaurants, pubs, halls, factories are also necessary otherwise, it will have an impact on the economy so the people now will have to act responsibly and follow all guidelines, said Dave.
