Rajouri garden market—a paradise for shopping lovers—is visited by people from all over Delhi in the hopes of finding the perfect outfit for a first date, or the latest wedding outfit popularised by a celebrity, or for fulfilling their casual clothing requirements.
The market captures the spectacle of the old saying “Delhi hai paise waalon ki!” When the reality around us turned on its head in March 2020 (due to Covid -19 and the subsequent lockdowns), the market, like many others, lost its sheen and wore a deserted look.
Fast forward to October 2021, it seems as though Covid-19 is a myth lost in the pages of history. On October 29, 2021, while strolling in the weekly market, I witnessed hundreds of people thronging, without masks.
I thought about whether we have learned any lesson from the catastrophe that struck Delhi during the second wave, just a few months back. In a recent serosurvey conducted by the Delhi government and as reported by the Indian Express, over 90 % of the people surveyed have antibodies against Covid-19.
A serosurvey is a survey undertaken to determine number of people possessing antibodies against a disease (generally relating to a virus) in a population. The survey collected 28,000 blood samples from across the city.
The city has witnessed below 100 cases since August and things seem to go back to “normal” as the government has also announced the reopening of schools for all grades from November 1.
Playing the devil’s advocate here: such normality is welcome midst gloom witnessed by humanity, but with a callous attitude of not adhering to Covid-19-appropriate behavior, and with reports of almost 10 crore people missing their second dose of vaccination—it calls for caution.
The onus is on both, the government and the people, to make sure that the third wave doesn’t knock on our doors.