Third Covid wave imminent: IMA says pilgrimage, tourist travel can wait

The statement by the doctors' comes on a day when the annual Rath Yatra began in Puri and amid talks of allowing the 'Kanwar Yatra' in UP

As states approved Kawad yatra and Rath yatra, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has sounded a word of caution saying such religious gatherings could turn out to be super-spreader events, triggering the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IMA also warned the governments on allowing tourists to popular destinations saying such permissions can wait for a few months as global evidence suggested that the third wave was imminent and inevitable.

The IMA statement comes at a time when Uttar Pradesh has permitted the Kawad yatra from July 26, while Uttarakhand was discussing with other states on allowing pilgrims to enter the hill state. The Rath Yatra also began in Puri in Odisha and Ahmedabad.

Also Read | Ratha Yatra begins in curfew-clamped Puri sans devotees

“Tourist bonanza, pilgrimage travel, religious fervour, all are needed, but can wait for a few more months,” the doctors' association said.

“Opening up these rituals and enabling people without vaccination to go scot-free in these mass gatherings are potential super spreaders for the Covid third wave,” the IMA said.

The IMA said it was painful to note that at a crucial time when everyone is working to mitigate the third wave, in many parts of the country, both governments and the public were complacent and engaged in mass gatherings without following Covid protocols.

On the experience of the last one-and-a-half years of the war with the virus and the emerging evidence, it is obvious that by making the universal vaccination drive reach the maximum number of people and strictly following Covid-appropriate behaviour, people can face the third wave with confidence and mitigate its impact, the IMA said.

“The consequences of treating a patient with Covid in a hospital and its impacts on the economy will be much better than the economic loss we suffer by avoiding such mass gatherings. It is the duty and responsibility of everyone at this moment to strictly enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour for minimum three more months and ensure that everyone near our houses is getting vaccinated,” the statement said.