Crowds allow the novel coronavirus a passage to spread, a public health specialist who is a member of the National Task Force on Covid-19 management said at a webinar on Wednesday.

K. Srinath Reddy, who is also president of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), urged people not to engage in boisterous celebrations. If work from home is possible, why not pray from home, he asked.

Reddy also cautioned people against taking off masks while visiting friends and relatives and suggested that individuals sit far from each other during such visits.

Swami Satyeshananda, assistant general secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, said that as free citizens people have a responsibility towards themselves and society. “Swami Vivekananda had said that to be good and to do good to everyone is the essence of religion,” he said. “By not mixing... people will help themselves and the community at large.”

The webinar titled “Covid-19 and Festivals — Say NO to Relaxations” was organised by the Covid Care Network, a voluntary organisation comprising health officials, doctors and those who have recovered from Covid.

Public health expert Abhijit Chowdhury, also mentor of the network, said people should not indulge in irresponsible celebrations and urged all to take protective measures while going out.

Among other speakers was economist and activist Jean Dreze, who spoke from Muzaffarabad in Bihar.

“Piety does not require boisterous celebrations. If we have done work from home, why not pray from home? By allowing crowds, you will be allowing the virus a passage,” said Reddy.

The problem with crowds is that one infected person can go on to infect many.

“If two or three people are infected in a crowd of 100 people, they can go on to infect a large number of people in that crowd. That is how superspreader events are happening,” he said.

Reddy urged people to be patient till a vaccine comes or the virus loses its virulence through evolution.

“Wear a mask, sit far apart from each other, ensure good ventilation in the room and keep the doors and windows open. If possible, wear glasses and face shields,” he later told The Telegraph over the phone.

Dreze drew parallels between forthcoming elections and festivals, and how both would lead to crowding. The Assembly polls in Bihar are scheduled from October 28.

“Both forthcoming elections and festivals will draw crowds and crowds can lead to health hazards,” said Dreze, who was speaking from Muzaffarabad in Bihar. He also raised the issue of missing public health measures like door-to-door surveillance to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

He later advised that people visiting relatives and friends at their home should also put their masks on.