Fear of COVID spread as 36% Indians plan to socialize during festivals

An artisan works on clay sculptures depicting a Hindu goddess Durga at a workshop, ahead of the upcoming 'Durga puja' festival, in Allahabad. Pic/AFP.

Ahead of the festival season, a survey revealed on Friday that about 36% of Indians might be getting ready to socialise, sparking fears of a large-scale COVID-19 spread.

The most exciting time of the year for the countrymen is just around the corner. October-November, popularly known as the festive months mark the starting of festivals like Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra and finally Diwali.

People who have been confined to the walls of their houses for the last many months due to the pandemic, might now decide to step out and socialise, given the high spirits and positive sentiments that this time of the year brings with it.

'LocalCircles' conducted a survey to get an understanding of how people plan to socialise during the upcoming festive season. The survey received over 28,000 responses from over 226 districts of India.

In the first question, citizens were asked how they plan to socialise during this festive season. In response, three per cent said they will attend neighbourhood events, three per cent said they would attend private get togethers or parties that they are invited to, 23% said they will visit and have over close family and friends, while seven per cent said they will do all of the above. 51% said they will not socialise at all. This means that 36% Indians want to socialise over this festive season.

In early September, residents of Kerala became quite careless during the Onam festival celebrations which resulted in a huge surge in COVID-19 cases from 4,000 a day to over 10,000 a day. This led to the Kerala government invoking section 144 and banning the assembly of more than five people across the state for the entire month of October.

The prolonged impact of the virus has meant that Indians have been avoiding get-togethers, meeting extended family and crowded places, but it looks like the chains are likely going to be broken during the upcoming festivals.

The next question asked was that despite COVID-19, what was the primary reason they wanted to socialise this festive season. 17% said it has been a tough year socially for them and their family and this will cheer them up, while 10% said there will be social pressure so they must do it.

About 63% said they plan to take precautions and socialize and five per cent said they have contacted the virus in the past so it is not a worry. Five per cent were unsure.

With cases of Covid almost at the seven million mark in India, the Ministry of Health has come out with Festive Season standard operating procedures.

Besides this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 launched a "Jan Andolan" for COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and said the government will launch an action plan with region specific targeted communication in high case load districts.

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