Coronavirus: Complacency Will Cost The Nation Dearly
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-08-31 09:05:41
About the Author
India crossed the threshold of 80000 new Covid cases in a single day on Sunday and became the first country in the world to do so. Last week (August 24-30) was the worst so far in terms of new cases and the number of people who died. There were 5,14,038 new cases registered and 6930 deaths reported in the week. In percentage terms, it was 13.1 and 3.9 percent more, respectively, than the figures in the previous week. This is disturbing considering the fact that the previous three weeks had shown that the numbers were declining in percentage terms.
What is the reason for the nearly three-fold jump (in percentage terms) of cases from the previous week? It is a combination of increased testing and complacency. India is now doing nearly one million tests per day. Due to this, the number of positive cases, including those not showing any symptoms, are increasing daily. But that is only one side of the story. The other and more serious, reason for the jump is that Indians are not adhering to health protocols.
Take a walk around any wholesale market or even office areas. People are crowding like there is no pandemic. Physical (or social) distancing norms are not followed. Let alone two meters, people are not maintaining a distance of two feet also. Currency notes, said to be extremely dangerous, are changing hands fast. Loading and unloading of trucks is taking place in unhygienic conditions. No one even thinks of sanitizing hands.
From here, the goods are transported to retail markets all over the city. Here, maybe, you cannot enter the shop and are served from a distance. But did the shopkeeper sanitize the consignment that came from the wholesale market? Consumers are at a huge risk. In retail markets, the sections that sell fish, chicken and meat are even riskier. Buyers do not maintain physical distancing and the conditions are unhygienic here too.
On the streets, people are not wearing masks and even if they do, have taken to just hang the mask around their neck and push it up on their mouth and nose when someone comes close or when they talk to someone. This is dangerous as the air that goes out when one exhales can spread the virus at all times. It is absolutely necessary to keep the mask in the proper place on the face when one is out on the streets, for the safety of self and others.
With more relaxations in Unlock 4, this complacency is going to cost the nation dearly. If India were to have community transmission now, its health infrastructure will crumble under the flood of patients. As per experts, it is just a matter of one or two months before the curve flattens and the cases start to decline. Citizens must follow all health protocols religiously and venture out when absolutely necessary and unavoidable. The administration must also ensure that people follow the rules.
Pic courtesy: The Hindu
