The battle against the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the lethal virus is still infecting five lakh people worldwide every day. On an average, the world is witnessing nearly nine thousand fatalities per day. In the African continent, the fatality rate has increased by 10 per cent in just two weeks. The worsening scenario can be attributed to the slow vaccination process in many countries and to the Delta variant of Covid-19, which can infect eight persons in a very limited time span. The speed at which the pandemic situation changes can be ascertained from the fact that during the second wave of Covid-19, Indonesia sent more than three thousand Oxygen concentrators to India and now, Indonesia is requesting Oxygen concentrators from other nations due to the rapid spread of the disease.
Now is not the time to lower our guard. However, we are watching different pictures in different cities around the world. All major tourist spots are crowded in many cities and limited effort is being undertaken to observe Covid-19 safety protocols. People are neither wearing masks, nor maintaining social distancing norms, it is as though the world is not in the midst of a pandemic. In all probability, this premature celebration of life may invite the third wave sooner than expected. The dangers of crowding were witnessed at the Kumbh Mela and assembly elections in five states. Such events expedited the second wave of Covid-19 in the country. Disturbing reports are also coming from Europe, according to the experts the continent may face another wave of this deadly virus for allowing spectators to stadiums for the Euro-2020 matches.
Quite fittingly, the Central Government of India has warned the states and have asked the local administration to control crowds. It is a fact that maintaining public health is the responsibility of the government. But, at the same time it is the duty of the citizens to help the administration ward off such threats. The citizens may argue that only after lifting of the restrictions are people going to various places. But, citizens should understand that considering the impact of restrictions on the economy, the government has no other option but to ease the curbs as soon as the disease comes under control. This, it is for the people to exercise self-restraint to keep the pandemic away.
At the same time, the world as a whole should ensure that the vaccination process is accelerated. Countries, like America and Israel have vaccinated most of its citizens, whilst in many Asian and African countries merely five per cent of the population has been vaccinated thus far. Such disparity will only help the disease prolong its wrath as the world today is a connected one. To wipe it out from its root, developed nations should come forward to help poor nations complete the vaccination process in a time-bound manner. A collective effort is necessary to rid the world of the Covid-19 virus.