Public flout Covid norms, roam in markets without mask

Mahabubnagar: With a large number people seen roaming without masks during the Sankranti festival gatherings and even at market places like shopping malls, vegetable markets, and fish and mutton markets and at glossary stores, the Municipal and Health department authorities across the Palamuru region have miserably failed in sensitizing the public on the highly spreading Omicron Covid disease.

Even while the district authorities are fearing with the rising number of Covid cases driven by the new variant and every day 100s of patients getting Covid positive tests, ironically, the municipal and health authorities are least bothered to sensitise the public.

Though the police authorities have been cracking whip on mask less people at some places and even imposing fines on them, this festive season a large number of public who have came back from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and from other districts from Telangana to celebrate were seen roaming freely without masks and there is no one to remind them about the need of wearing the masks.

Giving his opinion Ramesh Nayak a police constable said that, unlike during the first and second wave of Covid pandemic each and every gram panchayat at the village level, municipality authorities at major towns and local health authorities continuously ran awareness campaigns of wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and hand sanitisations, but this festival, there is not a single awareness campaigns taken up by these authorities and this is letting the people go free violating all the Covid safety norms leading to the wide spread of the deadly disease. More than 90 per cent people are moving fearlessly and citing the reason they are vaccinated and free from contracting the disease. But according to doctors the Covid disease can attack even the vaccinated persons if their immune system is weak. In view of this, it is highly important for the public to maintain safety norms even if they are vaccinated.

"Whether you are vaccinated or not, wearing mask, maintaining social distance and regular hand sanitisation is a must to keep one's self safe from contracting the virus. People with co-morbidities, weak immunity and with chronic ailments can become fatal to the virus. So wear mask to not only keep one's self safe but at the same time others safe," said Dr. Radha, a government doctor.

Ironically, even though the police have been imposing fines and collected to a tune of Rs. 6 crores across erstwhile Mahabubnagar district last year in the form of punishment for not wearing masks and again another Rs. 30,00,000 in just 15 days beginning this new year, yet there is no change in the people's mind set and continue to roam freely without masks.

In view of this, opinion leaders, and concerned citizens are of the view that the municipalities, health authorities need to continue their sensitising campaign regularly and keep the public reminding on the importance of wearing masks. Only then we can stop the spread of the dangerous Covid disease from reaching to the peak levels, observed health experts.