Covid-SOPs hold the key
The administration in Srinagar has warned of another lockdown in areas where Covid Appropriate Behavior (CAB) is being violated following which Srinagar district has been witnessing an increased number of covid-19 cases every day.
The warning has come at a time when experts have been predicting a third wave of covid-19 with people taking the warnings lightly. The situation in Srinagar district seems to be going haywire as the people have ignored all warnings about maintaining covid appropriate behavior.
Nowhere in the district are people seen following the covid SOP’s as advised. Instead, all the advisories are being ignored as marriage ceremonies, condolence meetings, religious gatherings and market places are witnessing huge involvement of people that too without giving a damn to the observance of covid-19 SOPs.
The situation is such that Srinagar is topping the districts in positive cases and the graph has been witnessing an increase rather than showing any signs of a slide. Just yesterday many key showrooms and other places were sealed by the district authorities in LalChowk are as the people working there did not follow the covid-19 SOPs.
This being just the tip of the iceberg, other sectors too have been recording huge violations with transporters also ignoring all the SOP’s and resorting to overload in buses, cabs and other forms of public transport.
Given the situation that is arising and the opinion of the experts that covid is here to stay, a viable strategy needs to be framed so that people can go out to work and still manage to escape the virus.
A plan needs to be devised to strictly implement testing, tracing and asking people to strictly follow COVID appropriate behavior in all sectors. Secondly, a massive vaccination drive that has already been started needs to be strengthened further to challenge the situation arising out of the rise in the number of COVID cases particularly in Srinagar district.
We have already witnessed the effects of covid-19 during the second wave. Though our healthcare system has showed a tremendous improvement, still nothing can be left to chance and people need to follow the covid SOPs with vigor.
It is after a long gap that some activity is being witnessed in the education and tourism sectors. These two sectors have bore the maximum brunt of the covid-19 and if the situation is left to slide the way it is happening right now both the sectors will again come under tremendous stress.
We have to act as responsible citizens as all the measures should not be left to the administration and the police alone. We also need to stand up and advise people on observing the covid rules so that the situation does not get out of hand.
This way we can also convince the people at the helm that extending a lockdown can be avoided and economic activities can also be carried out across the district by following the covid SOPs religiously.
