PM's message amid COVID alarm over tourism rush: 'Not okay to visit crowded places without masks’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cautioned against crowding at tourism hubs in violation of guidelines aimed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 while urging people to follow social distancing rules and mask etiquette. The backdrop: His remark comes at a time when photos of overcrowding in several hill stations have set off alarm bells with experts fearing that reckless behaviour could fuel the spread of COVID-19.

• India faced a second deadly wave of COVID-19 in April-May; skyrocketing infections and fatalities put stress on the country’s health care infrastructure even as medical professionals worked round the clock to save lives.
• With cases coming doing and restrictions imposed by states to check COVID-19 spread relaxed, people are flocking to tourist spots; large crowds — many among them without masks —have been photographed gathering at popular destinations.
• Amid fears of a looming third wave, experts have said this so-called “revenge tourism” could lead to the worsening of the situation if people lower their guards.

The big message: While Modi acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected tourism and businesses, he also sounded caution.

• “…But I will stress that it’s not okay to visit crowded markets, hill stations without masks,” he said in a televised address, after holding a meeting with chief ministers of northeastern states to take stock of the situation there.

Reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the Northeast with CMs. https://t.co/Li32QRUNih

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 13, 2021

Other talking points: The prime minister also spoke on vaccinations, testing and COVID-19 variants.

• India will have to march forward while improving its testing and treatment infrastructure, the PM said. For this, the Cabinet has approved a Rs 23,000-crore package.
• He also mentioned that states in the northeast can use this scheme to bolster their health care infrastructure.
• India will have to expedite the vaccination process to fight a possible third wave. Northeastern states are as important as others in the central government’s free vaccination drive for all adults, Modi said.
• He also said it was important to monitor variants of the Sas-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. Experts are studying how problematic they can become after mutations, he added.
• Modi also stressed the two keywords of prevention and treatment to fight the pandemic.

What else? Modi also said stricter steps were needed at the micro-level to check the virus, and called for greater emphasis on micro-containment zones, according to news agency PTI.

• He said in some districts of northeastern states, the situation was worrisome and that authorities must keep close tabs on the situation.
• Chief ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram attended the virtual meeting with the PM. It was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, among others.