India celebrates Hindu New Year under threat of Govt wave | Community | USA Edition

India on Thursday lit their houses with candles and shawls to celebrate the Hindu New Year, also known as Deepavali, which threatens to exacerbate COVID-19 infections in the country by family gatherings and crowds due to traditional pre-purchases.

This important Hindu celebration, meeting family and friends for dinner and exchanging gifts and sweets can increase epidemics in the Asian nation, which is one of the lowest rates of epidemics today. 461 people have lost their lives in the last 24 hours.

The festival symbolizes the mythical victory of Lord Rama against a demon named Ravana on the present island of Sri Lanka and the deity returned home after fourteen years of exile, for which the inhabitants of the subcontinent lit their way back with candles.

“People organize many banquets for Deepavali and give each other presents. It is the most festive time of the year for Indians. Despite the religious differences in this diverse country, we are all united,” she told Anisha Efe, a young Indian living. She is going to spend this holiday with her family in New Delhi.

In the days leading up to Deepavali, the streets of the Indian capital were crowded with passers-by for this important date, and although the mask was still mandatory in the country, security could not be kept within walking distance of the city’s main markets. .

Despite these accumulations that could exacerbate the disease, the country did not anticipate a situation like the one again in May, when a serious second wave of hospitals and cremations with more than 400,000 cases and more than 4,500 daily deaths collapsed, according to the Presidential Medical Association of India (IMA), Dr JA Jayalal.

“People now know a lot about anticoagulant protocols … Now, with the vaccine, there should be no signs of a new wave,” he argued.

The vaccination campaign, which is seen by Indian authorities as the only tool to eradicate the disease, managed 3 million doses on the last day, adding a total of more than 1 billion serums since its launch last January.

In all, there is a dose of 737 million people, and only 338 million people enjoy the full schedule, which is not enough statistics for a country of about 950 million adults.