198 new cases of coronavirus in Punjab: People violating precautionary measures

LAHORE: The people of provincial capital are undeterred by the rising cases of coronavirus in Punjab as they are continuously violating the precautionary measures against the contagious disease. The government and medical experts are showing a grave concern over the possibility of a second wave of the virus, but the warnings have little impact on the people.

They have urged people to be wary of the virus and thus strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) formulated by the government to limit the spread of the virus. The government has shown fear that the ratio of infection has more than doubled in the past few weeks and hence if the people do not adopt the precautionary measures then we could face the second wave.

According to the figures released by the Directorate General Health Sciences Punjab on Monday, in the last 24 hours 198 new cases of the Coronavirus was reported in Punjab whereas a day before 210 cases were reported. On average, for the past few days, the figure of positive cases is hovering around 200 per day. However, fortunately, the zero virus-related deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours.

The government's repeated warnings and the statistics have undeterred people from going to crowded places and that too without face masks. Very few people are seen using them when on streets, in markets or crowded areas. Social distancing is non-existent, as the people are seen jammed together in shops or markets places.

Even in schools and colleges, the SOPS are not strictly followed despite the government's tough measures. Many children are seen going inside the school buildings without wearing the face mask. This also reflects the seriousness of the parents' by sending their children without the mask.

School and college private transporter also flouting the SOPs by overloading the vans and rickshaws, which makes a perfect environment for the virus to spread among the children and teenagers.

A college student told Business Recorder here on Monday that usually around 12 to 14 girls are packed in the van and most of them do not wear masks. "Yes, the fear of the virus is there, but it is declining. However, it is the duty of the van owner to ensure the SOPs and thus limit the number of students. The driver is too concerned about making money," she added.

A school van owner, Tariq, said that the virus is just a hoax; "if Allah has destined us to catch an illness then no power on earth can stop it." Regarding overloading and SOPs, he said that he is following the SOPs as the college is very vigilant about it.

At Islampura bazaar, the people showed the least concern about the threat of the virus as they were seen going into crowded shops without wearing masks or maintaining a social distance. Nadeem, an employee at a bakery, said that it is almost impossible to ensure implementation of SOPs in market places; "the people need to act responsibly, we cannot teach them."

While citing an incident, he said that a customer became aggressive and used abusive language after he asked him to wear the mask. A lady inside a grocery shop said when there is no more threat of the virus, then why should she wear the mask or avoid crowded places. Such behaviour was not limited to the Islampura bazaar as a similar attitude was seen in other markets of the city.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020