Shaheen Bagh protest continues despite coronavirus scare

New Delhi : Despite several advisories issued by the government to avoid mass gatherings to control the spread of COVID-19, the protesters at Shaheen Bagh have claimed that they will continue their agitation against the CAA while taking proper security measure.

This comes on a day when the Delhi government ordered a ban any formal gathering of more than 200 people, including sports events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Yesterday, we issued an order to shut all cinema halls, schools and colleges till March 31. Today, in another order, we have banned any sports gatherings, seminars and conferences having 200 people or more. Beyond this, if people are still meeting in large numbers, we can only appeal to them not to do so. Public health should be of prime importance," said Sisodia.

Reacting to the government's advisory, Qazi Emad, media coordinator of the Shaheen Bagh protest said, "We respect the ban imposed by the government at cinema halls and events such as IPL. But those are a form of entertainment whereas our agitation is about our fight for survival. It cannot be compared."

Since Covid-19 is a respiratory disease, health experts said exposure to large gathering increases the chances of contracting it. “People from all walks of life attend these gatherings. It is possible that they may have had some contact with those from affected areas or with those who were in contact with the affected. It can make the virus spread faster. The risk can be reduced if outsider contact is limited and the protesters are educated about the disease so that they recognise the symptoms and go for checkups and practice respiratory etiquettes and hygiene,” said Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine, Safdarjung Hospital.