While the whole country is battling with a pandemic, it is heartbreaking how some people show lack of respect for the rules that are put in place to protect them and their near & dear ones from Coronavirus.
From strictly instructing people to use masks, clean their hands at frequent intervals, and follow the social distancing norms, authorities are trying hard to contain the spread of Coronavirus. Post-Unlock 1.0, though the government permitted to organize public events, they have advised to keep it intimate with only 50 people in attendance.
But these regulations were recently defied in a village in Bihar’s Patna during a wedding ceremony. And as a result, 113 guests were tested positive for coronavirus, reported Indian Express.
The administration came to know about this case of mass spread of Coronavirus when the groom, a 30-year-old techie, died within 2 days after getting married in Paliganj. Post this, the administration took samples of the groom’s close relatives and his neighbors and as many as 15 people tested Covid-19 positive.
But later when the authorities started tracing all the guests at wedding, 113 people tested positive for coronavirus.
Times of India reports that the deceased groom, a software engineer in Gurugram, couldn’t be tested as the family cremated him prior to informing the Patna administration.
According to Patna DM Kumar Ravi, he received an anonymous call informing him about the groom’s death. He further added the groom had returned to his village Deehpali on May 12 for his wedding. He shared:
“The groom had returned from Gurugram and even though he was symptomatic, the family went ahead with the wedding. When his condition deteriorated, his family rushed to AIIMS-Patna but he died on the way.
A local shared that the groom’s health deteriorated as soon as the wedding rituals started. But, the family took him to a quack and he was home quarantined. Even a day before his wedding, the techie collapsed and was shivering. However, the bride, a civil engineer, tested negative for coronavirus.
An unidentified relative of the groom told The Indian Express.
“Even though he was feeling unwell by June 14 and wanted the wedding deferred, family heads from both sides advised against it, citing huge financial losses if the arrangements had to be canceled,”
The relative said they were concerned but “prayed that it was not COVID infection”.
“He performed all the pre-wedding functions after taking paracetamol.”
Paliganj Block Development Officer Chiranjeev Pandey said,
“Our first priority now is to prevent the infection and break the chain. We have sealed parts of the neighbouring Meetha Kuan, Khagari and some parts of the sub-urban marketplace of Paliganj.”
Though authorities are trying hard to control the pandemic, here is what hurts the most – both the bride and groom’s family were educated enough (both the bride and groom’s fathers are teachers) to understand the severity of the situation. But still, rather than following the rules, they neglected the groom’s symptoms and defied all the norms, putting everyone’s life at risk.
At IFORHER, we are heartbroken how people are flouting the rules and putting everyone’s life at risk. Even though we have lost over 17,000 people to Coronavirus and almost 6,00,000 people got infected, our countrymen are still not taking this deadly disease seriously. We hope people will take precautions not only for themselves but also for their loved ones.
