Need to guard against carelessness in fight against Covid: Ex IMA secretary

There is need to guard against carelessness in the fight against Covid-19 and people should be careful because pollution has also started rising, Dr Ravi Malik, a former secretary of IMA said

There is need to guard against carelessness in the fight against COVID-19 and people should be careful because pollution has also started rising, Dr Ravi Malik, a former secretary of Indian Medical Association (IMA), said on Saturday.

"Carelessness has slowly crept inside people's mentality regarding COVID-19. We have started seeing public gathering and large scale functions. We are witnessing the rise of cases in Delhi. At this time, people should be careful because pollution has also started rising and there is smog," Dr Malik told ANI.

"In the winter season, the respiratory illness spreads quickly. Each one should act responsibly and regain the momentum that we had earlier. The last pandemic came in four waves and lasted nearly three years," he said.

He was asked about rise in COVID-19 cases in Delhi for the past few days and the total count of cases in the country crossing 87.73 lakh.

Dr Malik said there is need to learn from some European countries who have been forced to impose lockdown again due to the rising number of cases and they were struggling to deal with the virus despite the availability of resources.

"If they are forced to impose a lockdown then we are not any different. Everybody should be personally accountable for oneself. And this surge of cases must be curbed," he said.

He said air pollution should not be taken lightly.

"For some reason, we are taking air pollution lightly. Air pollution will attack the lungs and COVID-19 will also attack the lungs. And because of that, COVID-19 related deaths can also increase. In a bid to manage the situation we must do our bit and the government must do its role.