Eid and Navratri In the Time of Swine Flu
Posted on Sep 21, 2009 by Reena Daruwalla | Comments 0
With the festive season underway in most parts of the country, there are concerns of swine flu spreading easily and quickly in areas where people congregate in large numbers to celebrate festivals, and go out and visit each other in large numbers. Even the Ganesh festival inspired mixed reactions due to the fear of the H1N1 Swine Flu virus.
Similarly, Eid, celebrated today in India and yesterday in many parts of the world, was a low key celebration in many locations, according to this AFP report. In Cairo, Egypt it was suggested that worshippers offer namaz prayers for eid at home rather than gather in mosques in large numbers. As of now Egypt has only reported two deaths from swine flu, and some 900 positive cases. “We ought to cancel Eid prayers… there should be a national campaign to keep crowded places clean and ensure they are safe for people,” it was suggested. In Jordan as well kissing has been advised against, “People should not kiss at social events and gatherings. Instead, they should just shake hands,” it has been advised.
Also the Navratri celebrations are muted and sober due to the Swine flu pandemic’s hold on the worst affected Indian city; Pune. In Gujarat, the home of the Navratri raas garba celebrations, there is caution with regard to the spread of the Swine Flu virus as well. Surat, Ahmedabad and Vadodara have reported the highest number of positive swine flu cases according to this Times report.
Talking about cases of fever, pneumonia, etc, one health official said “A helpline number can help us track such cases. Proper intervention at the right time can help us quell the increasing number of pneumonia cases. In some of the recent swine flu deaths in Surat and Ahmedabad, the patients were diagnosed at a very later stage where it was not possible for physicians to treat them.”
The Vibrant Navratri Festival in Ahmedabad will have a team of five doctors along with a quarantine area also being set up at the venue.
In Mumbai, measures such as sending of precautionary SMSes are being taken to limit spread of the infection during Navratri as reported by Midday. One organiser of dandiya in Mumbai said “We have appealed to people to stay away from playing dandiya if they have fever, cough and cold. From our side, we fumigate the entire place every day just before revellers start coming.”
Another dandiya organiser is being careful by distributing free masks to people in case the weather turns humid or rainy (the virus spreads less in hot weather).
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Posted in: Swine Flu News
