'When Will India See This?': Court On Wimbledon Spectators Without Masks

All eyes may have been on Novak Djokovic at the Men's Singles final at Wimbledon last week as he won yet another Grand Slam title, but for the Bombay High Court, the real sight to behold was a stadium full of spectators without masks.

Wondering when India would see the return to this level of normalcy, the court noted that "vaccinating everyone" is the key.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing Public Interest Litigations (PILs) on the pandemic situation in Maharashtra and the state government's preparedness to face a possible third wave.

"The Wimbledon final was the sight of the year. We don't know if you saw it, but not a single person was wearing a mask," the High Court told Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni.

"The stadium was jam-packed and nobody but one lone woman was wearing a mask. One Indian cricketer was also present and he was without a mask too," the judges said.

"When will India see such a situation? Vaccinating everyone is the key to it," the High Court said.

A third wave of the pandemic has reportedly arrived in some states, it said.

"There are reports saying the third wave has set in in two states in the northeast. We have to take measures," the judges said, adding that "we are in a much more comfortable situation now" but there should not be any "lowering of the guard from here".

The judges said they have read news reports about active cases of the Delta-Plus variant of coronavirus in Maharashtra, and the state must act to prevent the spread of infection.

The High Court will hear the PILs next after three weeks.

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