KOCHI: The promise of an effective Covid vaccine seems to have dulled the public’s apprehensions and fear of the pandemic. People violating the most basic of Covid guidelines are a common sight now. What’s even more disturbing is that many shops have dropped the practice of placing hand sanitisers for customers. This worrying trend has made cautious residents wary of venturing out now. Neeraja M, who lives in Kadavanthra, Kochi, walked into a shop on Friday to buy pots for her plants.
Once she was done, Neeraja searched for a sanitiser, which would normally be placed at the shop’s entrance. But this time, there wasn’t one. Since she had forgotten to carry a sanitiser, Neeraja had to wait till she got back home to wash her hands. “Nowadays, most shops, especially small ones, have started skipping the stipulation of placing hand sanitisers at the entrance. Inspections also seem to have died down. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to leave empty sanitiser bottles and would have refilled those promptly. The risks of contracting and transmitting the infection have definitely increased manifold,” said Neeraja.
This is not an isolated incident. Similar accounts have been reported from various parts of the state. Recently, Praveen P R, an engineer based in Thiruvananthapuram, was in Idukki vacationing with his family. Since it is quite hard to find good hotels and restaurants in off-track tourist hotspots, one often has to make do with small tea shops. “However, most shops had no sanitisers and the owners weren’t even wearing their masks properly,” said Praveen.
“We were very stringent about using sanitisers and wearing masks during the early stages of the lockdown. But once the stock ran out, we did not buy more,” said a stationery shop owner in Kochi. Meanwhile, health officials have emphasised time and again that not following Covid protocol is akin to asking for danger.
“The vaccine is yet to arrive. This is not the time to be lackadaisical about the pandemic. Along with authorities, even the public should realise their part in curbing the spread of the disease. We have deployed health officials at block and grama panchayat levels to ensure that all shops strictly follow Covid protocol. Stringent action will be taken against those found violating the norms,” said a health official.