As I received information via my Whatsapp group about the death of a classmate due to Covid, and my best friend told me today that she was hospitalized due to falling oxygen levels, I realized that this wave was hitting close to home. Of course we knew, last year too, that the person dying was someone's sister, mother, beloved but it was not personal. This year it has become personal. Every other person dying is someone you know. Every other person getting infected is some one you know. At this point, three of my students have the infection and I worry about them every day.
And to think this was all avoidable. Complacency never pays off. As the number of cases decreased, schools/colleges/universities partially reopened, life returned back to normal. Lavish weddings became the norm. Festivals were celebrated. On the campus, we had to keep reminding students to wear masks but all our admonishments fell on deaf ears.
This year, sometime late February/early March, I made my way to one of the main markets to get my curtains repaired. I was appalled. A loudspeaker was blaring message about social distancing, people were milling about, jostling each other, masks were either not being worn or were dangling around the chin, shopkeepers were helpless and it was a mayhem. It was almost as if people had forgotten about the pandemic.
Then came the state elections and rallies were held with no social distancing, no masks, no precautions. None of the political leaders walked the talk about social distancing and masking. Finally, the Kumbh Mela was held in Haridwar. It was only when a Mahant died that the politicians thought it prudent to shut it down.
Even if the government (Central as well as State) had strengthened the hospitals, oxygen supply, testing...things could have been done in the past one year. It is the callousness of it all that hurts and angers.
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