On Tuesday an elderly person coming to Shillong from Ri Bhoi was tested positive for Covid. A few days ago the Government had announced that religious places (churches, temples, mosques, gurudwara etc) would reopen on June 14. The announcement elicited mixed reactions, more so because the Chief Minister had himself announced that the next two weeks after Unlock 1.0 which started on Monday June 8, are going to be critical for Meghalaya. Till date there are 26 active cases in the State. They are mainly returnees, studying or working in other states of India. Quite a few of the returnees have come from the Covid hotspots like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad etc. Many are still returning in batches. In Meghalaya, the Government has not started random testing. With Covid, the more people are tested the more is the likelihood of finding out positive cases, since many are asymptomatic carriers.
At this vulnerable period when there is a swirl of returnees, some of who have completed their institutional quarantine and are now under 14 days of home quarantine, it is possible that while the tests show negative the person may be a carrier. It is also not a well established fact that if Covid does not show up within 28 days then the person tested is Covid free. There are too many unknown variables with this bug. Hence precaution, especially social distancing, wearing of masks, hand hygiene et al are imperative. It may so happen that an asymptomatic carrier attends church or a mosque or temple and despite the social distancing the virus is transmitted. What happens then in a state where the public health infrastructure is abysmal? Many have also questioned how religious places can allow some people to come for worship services while others are not allowed due to space constraints. And also those above 65 years of age are told not to leave their homes. What if they too assert that they have a right to worship with their religious community? Can anyone stop them from entering a church or any other place of worship?
If educational institutions are kept closed for the same reason that Covid is a highly infectious bug then why did Government decide to open up religious places which are veritable spaces for community fellowship – the anti-thesis to social distancing. The case of Patient 0 in South Korea who went to church and spread the virus to thousands of others must serve as a good example of why religious places had better remain closed for now. Covid demands that we do things differently and cannot go back to our ‘normal’ habits. The ‘new normal’ demands that henceforth prayer and worship has to be a private affair!