Social distancing goes for a toss; many leave homes without masks in Hubballi-Dharwad

Hubballi: The restrictions of the lockdown were considerably eased by the central government in order to revive the country’s flagging economy but the decision to ease the norms was accompanied by the issuance of a set of guidelines by the Union health ministry, advising people to continue to practise social distancing and other safety measures.

On the one hand, people have returned to the streets of cities, and several businesses that had stayed shut for six weeks reopened, but people appear to have thrown caution to the winds, and do not appear very keen on adhering to the safety norms. To begin with, there appears to be no concept of social distancing at crowded markets, while many are not wearing masks .

In Hubballi-Dharwad, citizens who had adhered to safety norms during the first two versions of the lockdown, appear to have dropped their guard now. Although both cops and personnel of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) made an attempt to enforce rules by penalising those seen on streets without wearing masks in the first few days of Lockdown 4.0, they are no longer taking cognisance of these violations.

Worse still, several traders and shopowners have no bothered to keep hand sanitisers at the entrance to their stores, and appear least concerned to enforce social distancing among customers. There are fears among the medical community of a new wave of Covid-19 sweeping across the state if people disregard basic safety norms to keep the infection at bay.

“The norms have been eased to allow businesses but that does not mean safety can be given the short shrift. They must compulsorily wear masks, and clean their hands with sanitiser, and these are norms people must follow diligently,” said Dr Shivanand Hiremath , a city-based psychiatrist.

Endorsing Dr Hiremath’s observations, Dr MC Sindhur, a physician in Hubballi said that masks must not be forgotten when people step out of their homes. “If any suspected Covid-19 patient coughs or sneezed with no protective gear, the infection can spread easily,” said Dr Sindhur.

HDMC commissioner Suresh Itnal, however, said that people not wearing masks in public were being penalised. He appealed to the people to understand the gravity of the situation, and to follow the prescribed norms.