The virus is a non-believer: All the more reason religious gatherings should comply with social distancing rules. No?

 The coronavirus is also a non-believer. Alpha, Delta, Omicron, only like to prey.: File Picture

Upala Sen   |  TT  | 16.01.22 : It is Terminator, a nuisance, and a total life-changer. The coronavirus is also a non-believer. Alpha, Delta, Omicron, only like to prey. So, there is no reason to think that it will be harsh on a Tablighi Jamaat conference and sing carols at Christmas celebrations or spare a Magh Mela or Gangasagar out of the goodness of its RNA genome. Between end February and early March 2020, Malaysia’s Jamek Mosque saw 16,000 pilgrims gather for an international conference. Within days there was an explosion of coronavirus cases in the country. But the Muhyiddin Yassin government didn’t begin to clamp down on travel till mid March. The then PM Muhyiddin called the pandemic a “trial from God” and appealed to the people to be patient. Many people refused to get tested and did not comply with social distancing norms in the belief that God would protect them from the trial their PM said had been sent by God.It is Terminator, a nuisance, and a total life-changer. The coronavirus is also a non-believer. Alpha, Delta, Omicron, only like to prey. So, there is no reason to think that it will be harsh on a Tablighi Jamaat conference and sing carols at Christmas celebrations or spare a Magh Mela or Gangasagar out of the goodness of its RNA genome. Between end February and early March 2020, Malaysia’s Jamek Mosque saw 16,000 pilgrims gather for an international conference. Within days there was an explosion of coronavirus cases in the country. But the Muhyiddin Yassin government didn’t begin to clamp down on travel till mid March. The then PM Muhyiddin called the pandemic a “trial from God” and appealed to the people to be patient. Many people refused to get tested and did not comply with social distancing norms in the belief that God would protect them from the trial their PM said had been sent by God.

Protein Shake

Daegu city in South Korea filed a damages suit against the Shincheonji Church of Jesus last year. The church had ignored quarantine measures and allowed the community to congregate. Seoul's city government asked prosecutors to bring murder charges against the leader of the church, Man-hee, for not co-operating in the efforts to contain the virus. In a public appearance Man-hee got down on his knees to express remorse. Many churches in the United States are believed to have been super spreaders of the coronavirus. And it has also come to be known that Jewish communities in the US contracted Covid-19 from gatherings during the week of Purim --- a Jewish holiday.

Don’t just pray

Several choir events in Europe have been identified as super-spreader events. The Tablighi Jamaat gathering at Delhi’s Nizamuddin mosque was one of the first such super-spreaders in India, but for all the uproar it created you would think it would be the last one. And yet here we are post Kumbh Mela, on the brink of Gangasagar amidst exhortations that Maa Ganga will take care of the safety of all. God will do what he or she needs to. The virus is anyway doing much and it is also learning while doing --- how to mutate this way and that, how to dodge a vaccine or two, how to show less teeth once in a while. That leaves us, humans --- stubborn, passing the buck from God to virus, unwilling to do and loath to learn. Truly pathetic.