COVID Parties And Other “Ridiculous Celebrations” That Have Killed Many And Invented New Levels Of Stupidity
Niharika has a passion for all things art, music, and travel and has over 4 years of experience in writing for social media. During her spare time, she likes experimenting in the kitchen, playing vide... read full bio
Image: Source: India Today
Unfortunately for the lot of us, the world is full of conspiracy theorists and other ill-advised people who think they can challenge the advice of both the government and health officials and do as they please. Whether this is banging thalis on the road as some people did during India’s lockdown or Americans attending “COVID parties” thinking the virus is a hoax, stupidity comes in all forms. The point of social distancing is to ensure that distance is maintained so you can avoid spreading the virus. After all, the infection is like a domino, when one falls, it takes down all the others with it. However, take away one or two domino pieces from the mix and it might affect the entire outcome of the situation. Similarly, people all over the world have been advised to maintain social distance while doctors and scientists fight day and night to find a vaccine. Here’s how some celebrations ended up costing the people involved more than they had bargained for:
COVID Parties
The US is no stranger to controversy during this pandemic. From spring breakers attending Spring Break in Flo Rida, getting infected and becoming superspreaders of infections to people celebrating “COVID parties” people are going out of their way to prove that they’re cool and they don’t care. If you have no clue what a COVID party even is, don’t be alarmed. This weird phenomenon came to prominence after a 30-year-old man attended a party in Texas that was hosted by someone who was infected with the virus. The young man believed he would be safe since he was young but unfortunately developed severe symptoms and passed away soon after. After the news broke, a health official in San Antonio took to social media to share his story (1).
She spoke about how a lot of young people assume that they are young and invincible and the virus will not get them down. Unfortunately, that is not the reality for a lot of people. As of now, the United States Of America has a confirmed Coronavirus death toll of around 134,884 people. She stated that many of them don’t appear to look sick although when their oxygen levels are checked, they’re much sicker than they expected (2).
Trouble Brewing In India
If you think Americans and other westerners are the only ones who are being silly about the virus, you’d be mistaken. In India too, many people choose to ignore orders and directions stated by the government and throw the social distancing rules in the dustbin. In Hyderabad, a top jewelry maker hosted a party of over 100 to celebrate his Birthday. Unfortunately not only did he contract the virus and die due to complications, but he also infected another jeweler who also died of the virus later. Health officials now have to use contract tracing to locate those who attended the occasion.
This isn’t even the first time people have spread the virus by not following rules. Another police constable in Hyderabad contracted the virus after he went around distributing sweets as he had just had a new child. All twelve recipients of the sweets have come down with the virus. The Director of Public Health G Srinivas Rao was quoted as saying, “These are the super-spreaders due to which the number of positive cases has gone up in Hyderabad. In spite of so much publicity, some people just refuse to follow the rules. Birthday parties, family gatherings to celebrate a birth, or youths getting together to welcome a foreign returnee are proving to be hotspots of coronavirus spread. Asymptomatic persons attending huge gatherings like this are spreading the infection”. It’s astonishing that people choose not to heed medical advice during a time like this (3).
Hope For A Vaccine On The Horizon
Russian scientists have given the world new hope after announcing their plan to launch the vaccine for the virus by mid-August. On July 12th Russia’s Sechenov University claimed that they had managed to successfully complete clinical trials of a vaccine that had been developed by government-run Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. The head and chief researcher of the organization had said that “The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe” (4).
As of now, no mass scale vaccine has been approved by the WHO for distribution. If a vaccine is to be administered to the public, it has to go through three phases of study before being approved for mass-scale distribution. According to Sechenoc University, those who were administered the vaccine developed some side effects to the injection like headaches and an elevated temperature, however, the symptoms resolved within a day’s time. The two groups of volunteers administered with the trial vaccine are set to be released on July 15th and July 20th after they spent 28 days in isolation to protect them from catching any other infections.
It’s disappointing to see the stupidity of some in the face of the virus and our hearts go out to all the families affected by this. However, researchers, medical staff, and scientists are working very very hard to help get rid of this virus and there is hope on the horizon. Do share this article if you enjoyed reading this and tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
