Covid rules not adhered by evacuated Indians
Covid rules not adhered by evacuated Indians
The covid-19 spread surged in India due to the combined ignorance of the government and the
citizens, especially the ones who returned or were evacuated from abroad. Most of the Covid-19
cases in India are likely to have originated abroad rather than through transmission within the
country. No one knows for sure.
Starting from May 07, 2020, the Government of India evacuated around 15,000 Indians who were
stranded in 12 different countries due to the corona virus lockdown. This was viewed as a mega
evacuation plan. However, what was disheartening about this noble step was the callous nature of
most of the people, who, after returning to their native land, did not follow the Covid-19 quarantine
protocol that was instructed to them.
Considering the massive number of evacuees the government found it difficult to provide a
quarantine centre to every individual. To avoid any confusion on this front, the evacuees were
advised for self quarantine at their own homes after their return.
This important government order seemed to have fallen on deaf ears or taken too casually. Barely a
day or two had passed when most of these foreign returnees forgot the terms on which they were
brought back to the country. Instead of self quarantining themselves for 14 days, they began to lead
their normal lives. They were found to be meeting their friends and family. Some of them were also
seen going out with their friends in public places, such as malls, cinemas, restaurants, etc. In this
way, some of them ended up transmitting the Covid-19 virus to other people who came in contact
with them.
Some reports suggested that a majority of the infected people, since the infection was first detected
in India on 30 of January 2020, had a travel history to countries such as China, Iran and Italy. Further,
around 10 of the first 50 cases in India who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, until the 10 th of
March 2020, did not have a travel history, but had come in contact with individuals who had
travelled abroad.
There was also the case of a certain youngster in West Bengal, who despite having the symptoms of
Covid- 19, chose to go out with his friends. He came in contact with several other people, thereby
putting a big number of individuals under the radar of Covid-19. There were also reports of a certain
celebrity who, after returning from abroad, felt the need to party more than the need to quarantine.
Had the government interfered here with stricter measures, then loopholes such as these could
have been avoided. There was absolutely no need for the evacuated passengers to be let loose after
reaching the country. Preventive measures should have been stringently endorsed by the
government on these people so that the spread of the Covid-19 infection could have been controlled
to some extent at the early stages.
The Indian Government went a long way to bring back many of the Indians, who were stranded
abroad, to India. One of the ways that these people could have shown their gratitude to the Indian
Government is by strictly following the Covid-19 safety protocol that was set by the government,
which also included self quarantine for 14 days. Unfortunately, a number of them did not adhere to
the 14-day-quarantine protocol and ended up infecting other fellow Indians. Had they adhered to
the quarantine protocol the Covid-19 scenario may have been different in our country.
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