Thousands of visitors continue to visit Himachal Pradesh as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country continues to decline. Tourists have been flocking to hill areas in significant numbers in recent weeks, according to photos and videos posted on social media, as prohibitions in some states have been relaxed. What concerns the authorities is the visitors’ flagrant disregard for appropriate behaviour.

According to the Centre, overcrowding in hill stations is terrifying. “The images we saw today are terrifying, and we must be very careful, responsible, and cautious,” said Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

According to PTI, Bhargava also stated that some states are still in the throes of the pandemic’s second wave, despite daily infections dropping. “Areas reporting a test positivity rate of more than 10% must impose/reinstate certain restrictive measures that have been time tested and proved to be effective because the virus is still there,” he added.

If people continue to disobey Covid recommendations, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the Ministry of Health, has warned that restrictions may be enforced again. “With the limits relaxed, people are indulging in vengeance travel,” he explained. “Once the limits were loosened, people presumably assumed the virus had become ineffective, but the infection is still very much there, and if individuals do not wear masks and maintain physical distance, it might undo all of the advances we have made in terms of Covid control.”

AIIMS Chief Says COVID Third Wave Inevitable

While several scientists have warned that a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic might strike India in the next months, AIIMS head Dr. Randeep Guleria has claimed that the third wave is “inevitable” and could strike in the next six to eight weeks. Despite the fact that India’s COVID-19 caseload has been on the decline since a disastrous second wave’ between April and mid-June, with states resuming normal operations after weeks of stringent lockdown restrictions, a probable ‘third wave’ of infections has entered the scientific and popular conversation. Following the relaxation of limitations across India, there is a shortage of COVID-appropriate behavior, according to Guleria, who said that the country’s biggest challenge is vaccinating a large population.

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