36% say they will socialise during festival season raising concerns of rise in Covid-19 cases: Survey

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan may have advised people to stay away from crowds during festivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic and said that no religion or God asks for flamboyant celebrations but a recent survey shows that 36% of the people say they plan to socialise during this festive season.

While a majority of 51% said that they will not socialise at all, the survey found that a huge proportion of people said yes to socialising, which could result in a spiraling of Covid-19 cases.

Read | Harsh Vardhan urges people to follow Covid-19 guidelines during festive season

Already, experts have warned that the onset of winter may add to Covid-19 numbers, after analysing the trend in the West.

According to the survey by LocalCircles, covering 28,000 responses from 226 districts, 3% said they would attend private get-togethers/parties that they are invited to, 23% said they will visit and have over close family and friends, while 7% said they will do all of the above.

"Altogether 36% of Indians might be getting ready to socialise, sparking a fear of large scale Covid-19 spread...The prolonged impact of coronavirus has meant that Indians have been avoiding get-togethers, meeting extended family and crowded places, but it looks like the chains are going to be broken during the upcoming festivals," the survey said.

Also Read | Covid-19 likely to spike as festival season nears

It cited the spike in cases in Kerala after the Onam festival in early September. The festivities had resulted in a huge surge in coronavirus cases rising from 4,000 a day to over 10,000 cases a day. This led to the Kerala government invoking Section 144 and banning the assembly of more than five people across the state for all of October, it said.

To another question on what was the primary reason they want to socialise this festive season, 17% said it has been a tough year socially for them and their families and socialising and meeting others would cheer them up, while 10% said there will be social pressure so they must do it.

"63% said they plan to take precautions and socialise so they should be all right, and 5% said they have already had Covid-19 so it is not a worry. 5% were unsure," it added.