Monsoon no licence to drop guard against the pandemic

Waterlogging on the Sion-Panvel Highway at Chunabhatti on Wednesday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Monsoon, mayhem and Mumbai seem inextricably linked. The rains have arrived with a vengeance and the city has to brace for a robust monsoon. Reports about unpreparedness, waterlogging have now unfortunately become a part of the season. If we can take a little solace, it is that there are fewer people on the roads. There are also small takeaways from here, of the things we may have done wrong, of why we should be even more cautious, what to look out for if this continues and why the responsibility now is literally doubled as we are in the middle of a pandemic.

No panic and push comes to shove situations on train platforms if this rain continues over the next three to four days. If a mad rush ensues, then, all our efforts at containment will be washed away in the first deluge itself and we'll be back to a horror situation like at the start of the second wave.

Wear a mask, the rains are not an excuse to remove the covering. Medical professionals advocate the mask in all seasons, so heavy rains cannot be a pretext for removing the mask saying it will get wet or it is uncomfortable or whatever it is that rule breakers come up with. Do not use the climate as a licence to throw caution and mandatory covering to the winds.

Do not gadabout in groups at rain revelry places like beaches and sea-facing promenades. Please keep in mind that we are in the midst of an outbreak. Police personnel are already deployed at vaccine centres. You cannot stretch the already-thin resources through dangerous cavorting near the waves and water, descending on to rocks as happens every rain. Exercise grey cells and responsibility.

Finally, vaccination centre officials must ensure discipline on their premises and see that beneficiaries have basic amenities to shield them from the rains. No shelter from the rains cannot be one more reason to stop people from getting the shot.