PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Mar 15: The capital city is soaked in Holi spirit as the Covid-19 cases dropped down tremendously in the past few weeks and the markets remained flooded with revellers stocking up on gulal, pichkari and various other festive paraphernalia.
At the same time, doctors have suggested to remain vigilant in the wake of Covid-19 and have advised playing dry Holi to control the spread of the virus and other diseases.
Ritik who has been selling Holi related products for the past 10 years said that the previous year very little craze was seen among the people and the market remained cold as compared to what the market remained during Holi.
“This year a lot of people are coming to buy different fancy products such as fancy masks, herbal colours, water balloons and many more. Four days before the Holi celebration my shop is literally out of stock for many items which I have again ordered to fill up the shop as the shopping for Holi goes on till the actual Holi-day,” Ritik said.
Dr. Pradeep Bhattacharya, HOD Critical Care at RIMS said that Holi will not probably turn into another Covid surge. Based on last year’s Covid rise and the duration between the three waves, it is unlikely that the cases will surge to that level immediately after Holi.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have observed that it takes almost 4 months for the next wave to begin. Last year, a steady increase was followed by an exponential surge in infections from April 2021 onward culminating in the second wave of the pandemic, which was after Holi. And the third wave took almost 4 months after the second wave,” he added.
“At the same time people have to remain vigilant and the persons having symptoms should avoid playing Holi. However, everybody should try to switch to dry Holi which will further reduce the possibility of the spread of the virus. The people should also prefer herbal colours as other colours have a long term impact on the skin,” Dr. Bhattacharya further said.
Dr. Ajit Kumar of Sadar Hospital said that alarming situations have arisen in China and some other countries where infection rates have increased due to a different strain of virus but it is not the situation in Ranchi and people should play Holi as it will also reduce the stress level.
“However, the doctors and the government should be vigilant for the spread of the virus. The people suffering from diabetics, any kind of colour related allergy or a chronic patient should not play Holi.” Dr Ajit said.
“Although, the chances for another surge post-Holi is bleak, people should be mindful of being a part of huge gatherings because there is a possibility of variants still lingering. Surge or no, we are not completely out of the woods yet. The concern is that Holi is (mostly) played with water and this can prove lethal for those who have the previous diagnoses of sinus allergies. In such people, their condition can worsen considerably after Holi celebrations. With COVID-19 still around, even if you are asymptomatic, exposure to water may lead to sneezing (and other flu-like symptoms).” Dr Ajit added.
