Lifting the Lockdown too early ?

What happened to “Stay home,stay safe”?

All over the world, there is a wave of lifting the restrictions imposed for curtailing the coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic. In some countries who were the earliest to be affected by the virus, both infection rates and death rates seem to have been controlled. These countries have started easing restrictions on movement and economic activity. In other regions, infection rates are rising but governments have caved in to economic and social pressures.

Can you expect the average non medical person to realise the importance of safety measures against an infection that medical professionals do not fully understand yet ?

Do you think that the majority of the world ‘s population knows enough about the correct use of safety measures against the Corona virus?

Every where you go, you can see posters and signs advertising the use of masks and gloves to prevent the spread of infection. Yet how many people know about the appropriate use of these devices?

I have seen countless people wearing masks pulled down under their noses. They fail to realise that they could be breathing in the virus from the sneeze or cough of an infected person or vice versa if they are infected themselves.

Gloves can protect your hands if you touch an infected surface but if you don’t discard those gloves immediately , you will be transmitting infection to anything and anyone you might willingly or inadvertently touch. It is better to wash hands with soap and water frequently rather than wearing gloves. Where soap and water are not available or convenient , hand sanitizer will do the trick. Let us leave gloves to medical personnel and the food preparation industry .

Some countries , like Germany, managed to control the spread of infection. They started easing the Stay home restriction only to see a surge in the number of cases. Some Asian countries, where spread has not been controlled , are lifting the lockdown prematurely. It follows quite naturally that they are facing rising numbers of cases and deaths. This could collapse their inadequate health care systems. The economic pressure that they were attempting to relieve by reducing restrictions can be increased manifold.

I found the above image on the web without any mention of the source so I can neither give credit nor check it for accuracy. However, it serves as a warning of what could happen if  we let down our guard with respect to the Covid-19 paandemic.

Until an affordable vaccine becomes widely available world wide , continuing the lockdown is the only sensible thing to do.

Stay Home — Stay Safe.

 

featured image — lockdown sign — courtesy Unsplash.com