COVID Safety in Holi 2021

Holi is a favorite festival of thousands of Indians residing within India. The vibrant colors, the lavish gujiyas, and a playful atmosphere tend to bring back that childhood nostalgia. People of every age love to celebrate this festival overcoming differences. 

However, the Corona outbreak has placed a halt in the Holi celebrations of this year. The government of India has placed restrictions. By 24th March 2021, the country had recorded 47,262 new Covid-19 cases making the nationwide tally of the positive cases up to 11,734,058.

Due to this bolt increase in the COVID cases in many metro cities of the country, the Government of India as well the states have issued specific guidelines for the celebration of this year. 

The Central government recently issued a circular for advising states and union territories, under Section 22 of the Disaster Management Act for preventive measures. The government advised the public to remain inside their homes and avoid large-scale public gatherings. 

It has now become our civil responsibility to do the needful and stop the viral spread. The only prevention is the help that can stop the country from having a deja-vu of the previous year.

What can I do?

A single matchstick has the power to ignite as well as stop the fire. The government is doing its absolute best to defeat the virus. However, nothing could be gained with the orders of the papers until and unless we participate at our level. Our health is our own responsibility and no one’s else.

You can fulfill your responsibility towards the nation, your loved ones while celebrating the Holi at its best. You would just need to follow the given pointers:

1. Never take your mask off
2. Try to celebrate the festival indoor
3. Avoid large gatherings rather than play with a small group of people closely associated with you.
4. Ensure that no one with signs of cold or fever is involved in the celebration
5. Don't eat anything until you take a shower and frequently wash your hands
6. Avoid the celebrations completely, in case of mild cold or cough.
7. Always prefer the home-made food instead of the ready-made or the restaurant foods.
8. Infants, toddlers, and senior citizens should completely avoid the celebrations

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, it becomes important to take the necessary precautions in order to stop the disease. Though the vaccine is available, it does not assure complete protection against the disease. There is still a high chance of the numbers increasing in the coming few months. The country is still in the healing stage from the previous year's setbacks, it is now in a more vulnerable stage than the previous year.