FPJ Edit: Good citizens wear face masks and observe social distancing

After the initial unilateralist approach, the Centre has wisely left it to the States to devise their own policies depending on the extent of the spread of the coronavirus on their own. They have the central guidelines within which to frame their response to the pandemic. The States’ task may have become further arduous since the virus is now spreading fast into the hinterland. Since the unlocking of the economy, the virus has spread further. After attacking major urban conglomerates, there are reports of it now tormenting rural populations as well, with the healthcare system in rural areas woefully inadequate to cope with the situation. On July 1, the Unlock 2.0 brought little relief to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru. These places recorded a higher incidence of infections. Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu recorded a large number of cases, forcing them to extend the lockdown till the end of July. In the capital city of Delhi, the local government, curiously, blamed the higher number of tests for the higher number of cases. The logic seemed to be if you left the infected alone, the problem would somehow go away on its own. Of course, it would not. Undetected, the infected persons would pass the virus to a larger number of people than they would otherwise do if they were tested and quarantined. The pandemic also revealed a tendency of governments to suppress the actual number of cases. The Delhi Government, in particular, sought to vastly under-report the number of people infected. Also, there was some confusion in Delhi and elsewhere whether the virus had peaked already. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah did not agree with the Delhi Government claim that the virus in the capital was now in the community transmission stage. Epidemiologists were yet to weigh in on the issue, though it was irrelevant insofar as the effort to check the spread of infection should go on regardless. People must observe social distancing and wear face masks. In his address to the nation on Tuesday, the Prime Minister deprecated the fact that following phased relaxations of the lockdown people were not observing basic precautions to keep the virus at bay. In this context, he referred to the example of the Bulgarian prime minister who was fined the equivalent of Rs. 13,000 by the Health Ministry for not wearing a mask as he visited a monastery. We in India can learn from what is happening in the US which has already seen well over one lakh fatalities due to the virus. Those States which did not enforce the lockdown are now in the grip of the pandemic with the number of cases rising frightfully high with each passing day. The point is that until we have a vaccine, we cannot let our collective guard down. To wear a mask and observe social-distancing while conducting one’s daily business is the least costly way to fight the virus. Let us learn to live with the virus. And instead of tempting it to infect us by our careless behaviour, let us become good citizens by saving ourselves to save others from the killer coronavirus.