Unlock, but don’t forget Corona norms

The mobbing of actor Rhea Chakraborty at Mumbai was another low and came from the media fraternity.

A health worker wearing PPE kit at a Covid-19 rapid testing center in New Delhi. (Photo | Shekhar Yadav, EPS)

India has knocked Brazil off the second place with its 90,000 daily coronavirus positive cases. From Maharashtra to Odisha, states are pushing the daily tally relentlessly. Yet, to lift the economy from the depths to which it had sunk, the Centre has unlocked almost all activities. Pretty much everything is open now. And people, confined mostly to their homes due to the lockdowns and curbs for months, have unleashed themselves. The pictures and videos are everywhere. From the weekend markets of Chennai to the congregation in Odisha’s Cuttack where hundreds gathered to catch a glimpse of the first flood water of the monsoon in Mahanadi river, social distancing norms have gone for a toss. The mobbing of actor Rhea Chakraborty at Mumbai was another low and came from the media fraternity.

Indians are simply breaking free when the country is registering its highest daily caseload. A deep sense of confusion prevails. When Covid cases were in two digits, the country was in total lockdown. Now when it’s exploding, everyone is out. True, India needs to get its economy back on track; the livelihoods of millions are at stake and life must go back to normal. But we, as a nation, need to understand that behavioural chaos will not help. Face mask use, physical distancing and hygiene must take precedence at all cost. From what is being reported across states, this is not happening and people can already be seen flouting masking and other guidelines.

Suddenly, the emphasis on corona norms is on the wane as governments are busy opening up. The communication blitzkrieg that marked the early days of outbreak is missing. There is little evidence to show that the coronavirus scare is going to go away so soon. Vaccines will take time and if India needs to get a grip on transmission, the Centre must advise the states to chalk up fresh public communication strategies on masking and distancing with strict enforcement. That is the weapon at hand. The country had unitedly responded to Swachh Bharat; can’t it do so for the pandemic?