Avneet Kaur
Tribune news service
Jalandhar, January 1st
It seems that people have not learned a lesson from the second wave of Covid-19, which had a devastating impact across the country. Despite the experts’ continued warning about the third wave, people have abandoned their vigilance of the deadly infection that has claimed many lives so far.
On Saturday, India reported 1,431 Omicron cases, 2,775 new Covid cases and 406 deaths in the past 24 hours. Still, the forbearance of the authorities and the carefree demeanor of the people was evident on New Year’s Eve as they gathered in large numbers in restaurants, pubs, and on the streets to greet 2022.
Although the danger of Omicron is great, hundreds of people gathered in different places to celebrate the new year.
During a visit to various party spots, it turned out that the Covid norms were not followed anywhere. Forget about social distancing, residents didn’t even wear masks. In addition, many of those present were either not vaccinated or had only taken the single dose.
A couple of night owls at PPR Jalandhar, where the rush was huge and almost all of them groove to the music on the way, and they paid the least attention to the risk that the new variant entails.
“It’s New Year’s Eve. Since we have been locked up at home for the past two years, now is the time to celebrate, ”said Arshvir Singh, a class XII student who was partying with friends at the PPR.
In addition, restaurants in many places allowed photojournalists access on condition that no images were clicked.
“No cases of Omicron have been reported in Jalandhar, so there is nothing to worry about,” said another resident, Kamal Kumar.
The situation is no different at protest locations and political events “It is rightly said that rules should be broken in India. Neither politicians nor ordinary people, nobody obeys rules. When we point out the protesting teachers, we should also call on politicians to organize rallies one after the other, ”said local resident Sahil Verma.
Dist reports 34 new Covid cases
Jalandhar: The first day of the new year saw the district’s first Omicron case and an unprecedented Covid explosion. On January 1, 34 Covid cases were reported in the district, bringing the number to 63,680. Up to 62,069 people have recovered from Covid in the district, and there are 110 active cases in the district. Without any new deaths, the district toll will remain at 1,501. Of the 18.99.200 samples collected so far in the district, 17.62.272 samples tested negative. The results of up to 546 samples are still awaited.
Kapurthala reports 8 cases: The Kapurthala district reported eight cases of Covid today on Saturday, bringing the district number to 17,931. No new death has since been reported. The toll remains at 556. TNS
What does an expert say
“We cannot predict the situation at this time, but Omicron cannot be taken lightly as there is no guarantee that this virus will behave the same in India as it does anywhere else,” said Dr. Navjot Dahiya, National Vice President of the Indian Medical Association. He said that although Omicron was milder than the Delta variant and other previous versions of the virus, consistent with real world data, if a person is affected by Delta and Omicron at the same time, the condition can become fatal. “Omicron is less contagious to the lungs and has instead been largely restricted to the nose, throat and windpipe, but it is necessary that people follow guidelines and adhere to Covid-appropriate behavior,” he said.