KOCHI: The much-hyped ‘Break the Chain’ campaign launched by the government in the early stages of Covid pandemic has lost steam in the district. Most of the taps and hand wash facilities installed at government and private offices and public spaces to educate people about the importance of public and personal hygiene do not function anymore. Unfortunately, most of them were removed after the government announced relaxations in lockdown.
During the entire lockdown period, hand wash systems were set up in many cities. however, as lockdown concessions were announced one by one and people started going out as before, these facilities started disappearing.
“It’s time to have a rethink as the number of Covid cases has been increasing rapidly. The hand washing systems set up in every nook and corner had educated the public on hygiene. We have entered a dangerous phase of Covid.
The hand washing systems need to be brought back at the earliest,” said V P Chandran, opposition councillor. Though several offices have also installed automatic sanitiser dispensers, many of them don’t work anymore.
“everything was in place during the lockdown period, but when people have started visiting the headquarters, they have reduced the safety measures. It’s hard to find sanitisers and hand wash facilities in front of the collectorate,” said a Palarivattom resident who recently visited the civil station in Kakkanad.