With the onset of the monsoon, there has been a visible rise in
the number of people especially students, getting a cold or fever. It might
have been the fun of Sao Joao or the continuous spell of rains these past few
days, that has brought about this surge. Students complain about the rains but
now have to tackle unwell students in the corridors of their own school as they
are unaware of who may or may not be carrying virus.
Like a game of roulette, Goan students try
to dodge the bullet by wearing a mask but see hardly any other students doing
the same. Tanishka Prabhu, a student from Panjim, speaks about her experience
in her higher secondary school, where most people don’t wear masks. She says,
“No one wears a mask around here. There are people with the regular monsoon
fever but they should definitely get tested.” She explains how the negligence
of people to the symptoms of Covid pose a threat to all the students in school.
She says, “In my class, even my class teacher and two other students had Covid.
My teacher might have completed 14 days of quarantine but she still is coughing
in the class and wears a mask.”
Aakanksha Verekar, a student from Don
Bosco Higher Secondary School, Panjim, also has a word to say about the
students being careless despite having symptoms. She says, “No one wears a mask
but there are a few people coughing and running a fever but still coming to
school. Of course, they should get tested. Even though it may be a light fever
or cough, it is safer to get it tested for Covid 19.”
Crystal Fernandes, also a student from Don Bosco Higher
Secondary School, Panjim expresses how important it was for people who have
even a normal fever, to go get tested. “We have just one Arts class, so we
don’t follow social distancing and neither do we wear masks. These symptoms,
even if they are normal fever, can still infect other students and it would be
much more hazardous if they are Covid positive and not testing.” Payal
Prajapat, another Arts student of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Panjim,
agrees with her friends saying that there have been students with regular fever
which endangers the rest of the students. She says, “That’s correct. If students
are already vaccinated and the fever goes, then its okay but if the fever
continues for a few more days then they need to get tested. Since there are no
protocols followed anymore, it feels like school is back to normal but only a
small number of students are still scared of contracting the virus.”
Faheem Killedar, a student from Dnyanprassarak Mandal’s College
and Research Centre, Mapusa compared the times before and after Covid, where
these symptoms hardly made a difference. He says, “I feel that before Covid, we
used to see that people got cold and fever during the monsoons due to various
reasons. Some due to the weather change from hot and humid to cold and rainy.
It is wise to get a Covid test, if you see the symptoms multiplying rather than
the fever reducing over time.”
Should people get tested? The students had strong opinions about
how it is irresponsible not to take the test. Aakansha says, “Students will
come to school and not wear a mask which will infect others in class, since we
don’t follow social distancing anymore. They take it lightly as common cold or
fever but that’s how Covid spread before. The scare of Covid has definitely
gone from Goa.”
Faheem adds,”It is up to an individual to get tested to avoid
future complications. However, it is always wise to visit a doctor than be a
doctor yourself. We cannot blame people directly who refuse to take a test, as
we know that a lot of the population is unaware about the pros and cons of the
vaccination. There are so many people and websites that manipulate their
mindset about the Covid 19 vaccine.”
With
the State coming to a full turnabout in this Covid situation, these students
are not sure, if they should dismiss these symptoms, as many have lost their
loved ones to the deadly virus. Even though many might have felt no need to
continue protocols, the students still urge people to at least get a Covid test
done, when ill, to eradicate any chances of spreading the virus in class or at
the workplace
