Here’s To Hope!

Dear Readers,

First, the Good News – As per the latest reports, officials from the State Public Health Department (SPHD) have said that so far there are no signs of the potential third wave of Covid-19 infections.

Now, for the potentially Not-So-Good News – Even as the active Covid-19 case count has been gradually reducing in Maharashtra, experts and the SPHD have been monitoring the situation closely, as one could be looking at a spike in Covid-19 infections, by the first week of October, in keeping with the increased movement during the Dahi Handi and Ganeshotsav festivals, which were recently celebrated.

Even so, we have reason to heave a sigh of relief and be hopeful about the oncoming festive season, as the Covid-19 active caseload in the city has dropped to its lowest in seven months, and the daily positivity rate in the state has been around 2% over the last week – in fact, news reports showed the positivity rate at an even lower 1.95%, when this publication went to print.

We look forward to a fun festive season, one that will hopefully culminate in marking the end of the year on a joyful, happy and celebratory note… with the necessary covid-appropriate precautions in place, of course; Where friends, family and loved ones can come together to bid adieu, not just to 2021, but also to all the pain, misery and loss that the collective human race has suffered for nearly two years.

More than all else, the one thing that has sustained us all through the pandemic, and continues to do so, is our resolute sense of hope. And today, even as the world continues to battle, what we hope will be, the fading, last leg of the dreaded pandemic, it is still hope that keeps us going through it all. In the words of the great Lord Alfred Tennyson, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’…” Touché!

Have a good weekend!

– Anahita