Are Indian Citizens practicing Social Distancing?
By Ikyatha Yerasala
With India in a 21-day lockdown and over 3666 active cases in the country, the entire nation has to cautiously quarantine themselves to stop the terror that is COVID-19. In this crucial and testing time, how are Indians responding to the precautions? Ikyatha Yerasala reports.
With the entire country under a compulsory 21-day lockdown, thanks to the pandemic that is the deadly Corona virus, PM Modi has asked all citizens to cooperate and stringently follow the rules required to stop the spread of COVID. With the number of confirmed cases having shot up to 4067 the death toll now stands at 109. Despite the government’s strict orders to maintain social distancing and quarantining, irresponsible religious groups across the country held gatherings which contributed greatly to the number of Covid cases in the country. The Tablighi Jamaat event at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi saw more than 23000 attendees and contributed to 28 per cent of India’s new cases. While the privileged lot has been able to practice social distancing in their respective homes or shelters, migrant works across the nation were displaced and suddenly found themselves with no homes or shelters. With night shelters run by authorities overflowing with workers, a lot of these migrants had to head to their native towns with several walking back to their homes. Even those who managed to reach their homes were met with hostility. In places like Dharavi, where one man was tested positive and later died, social distancing has been extremely difficult. Some residents are taking it upon themselves to monitor the entry and exit of people who are entering and exiting the slum. According to an India Today report, residents have stated that since it’s not possible to socially distance in a 10/10 room, residents are asking the Government to set up isolation centres.
Dr. Niranjan Prabhakar, a dentist from Bengaluru and his wife Deepthi, who’s also a dentist, have always been the kind to be paranoid about hygiene and hand washing. And now with COVID lurking around, they’re even more stringent. “We’ve washed our hands diligently when we were working. My staff were sensitized to maintain personal hygiene. My parents too have the ‘no sharing of plates and vessels’, leave slippers outside the house, washing hands and legs before getting into bed rules. At work, we use personal protective wear as a norm for every patient ever since we started our dental practice. Being at a high-risk job, we have now become even more careful with our protocols. The safety of our patients and staff is paramount and that’s why we decided to stop practice and limit it only to emergency care. And now even that is being deferred to a more appropriate time,” says the doctor, who’s not strictly following the lockdown rules.
Even a section of the privileged educated lot has been part of the rule-breaking group. Singer Kanika Kapoor, who returned from the UK didn’t follow the quarantine rule and ended up throwing a party, which was attended by politicians and bureaucrats. Anubha Mahajan, a dentist who runs Chronic Pain India has to be extra guarded because she is immunocompromised as a result of her CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). Anubha, who resides in Gurgaon, away from her family who live in Faridabad, has a full-time maid who caters to her, especially when she has a CRPS flare. Before the 21-day lockdown, the Gurgaon resident went grocery shopping and to buy medicines. “I made sure I wore gloves and asked my maid and driver to touch the grocery as their immune system is better than mine. They kept their hand sanitized all the time. People were panicking in my society and some were even taking their pets for walks too. But that should not be done as dogs may be immune to the virus, but humans aren’t. They also put a plastic cover on the lift button and gave sanitizers to the security guard so that anybody who comes in or goes out sanitizes, but they were not changing the plastic sheet – anybody who comes in will be in contact with the sheet which means there’s a germ bool of bacteria out there. People with low immunity like me are at a higher risk of catching the virus, so wish I could have someone deliver the food and medicines to my door,” says the chronic pain warrior, who states that fake Whatsapp messages created a lot of havoc and misinformation around her. “I’m concerned about the food and medicines and wondering if they will last me till the end of the lockdown. And if I get a CRPS flare which requires immediate attention, it will be difficult to get an emergency ride to the hospital. But right now, our society people have come together to help out older people and those in need,” she shares.
Sheer stupidity has been displayed by many citizens who took toe the roads and formed groups to bang plates at the end of PM Modi’s Janata Curfew. Citizens need to understand they can show their solidarity without forming groups which increase the risk of COVID infections. In Ballari, Karnataka, where there haven’t been any confirmed cases yet, the fruit and vegetable markets have been shifted to different college grounds and the residents state that the Government has been doing a good job. Harshitha Sontha, who’s currently pregnant and in Ballari, has been extra cautious throughout the last month. “I haven’t even stepped out of the house. Only my Dad steps out early in the morning to finish his work (which involves newspaper distribution) and doesn’t step out after that. A few days ago, a healthcare worker came to check on me as I’m pregnant and recently travelled from Bengaluru to Ballari,” she says.
Washing door handles or sanitizing them is another precaution that many are following. Working professional Suchitra Chakravarti, who’s residing in Chennai in an apartment says, “We clean the door handles with Savlon. I’ve been working from home and only step out to buy groceries and wear protective gloves and a mask. My parents, who are above 70, don’t step out of the apartment – they only walk around in the compound. We even lock the apartment gates during the day (after early morning) so that no one enters or leaves.”
With 1.3 billion people under lockdown, only time will tell what holds next for India and the world in regard to this deadly pandemic.