Majhar Mannan :
Winter is knocking the country with the warning of an increased infection rate of Covid-19. Therefore, the cabinet meeting just held on the 16th instead has given instructions to conduct mobile courts to help people follow the hygiene rules and use mask mandatory. Since then mobile courts have been working and fining those who do not use mask. Those who are not using mask are being fined taka 100 to 200 by the mobile courts. It is also learned that the fine will be increased later.
Already four and a half lakh corona patients have been identified in the country. About six and a half thousand people have lost their lives. The rate of corona infection has been a bit low in the last few months but lately the number of corona patients is increasing and at the same time the death rate is simultaneously rising. Over 50 thousand corona patients have been identified in the last one month. Covid-19 patient identification has been on the rise since the beginning of November this year.
Experts call it the second wave of the corona and they think corona should be prevented as long as the hygiene rules are followed until the vaccine arrives. Experts have repeatedly emphasized the use of mask, wash hands with soap and maintaining social distance. One of the easiest ways to prevent corona is to use mask. In China, where the corona virus originated, people take to the streets using mask. Researchers say that most viruses spread through the air. A team of researchers from New South Wales says, people touch the face with their hands 23 times per hour averagely. The tendency to touch the face repeatedly increases the risk of corona virus. In this case, the use of mask reduces the risk a lot. The current market value of a mask is within the reach of any human being. So using mask is now just a matter of goodwill and awareness. The question is why people are indifferent to the use of mask.
Mask not only protects us from corona virus but it also protects us from dust and polluted air. People use mask during the raids of mobile courts but as soon as the raids are over they return to their previous state. If the people are not aware, then the question remains as to how much success will come by running mobile courts. There is no reliable calculation of the number of people floating in Dhaka city and no precise account of how many people take to streets everyday. Bringing such a large number of people under the raids of the mobile courts is an impossible task. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if 95 percent of people in an area use mask, then lockdown in that area can be avoided. Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CCD), based on recent data, said that using mask could help prevent Covid 19 infections. The CCD also says that corona virus infection is not declining in areas where mask is not being used. No effective vaccine against corona virus has yet been widely approved in the world. No specific drug for the infected patients has been discovered so far. So the emphasis is on hand washing with soap, maintaining social distance and using mask. But the tendency to follow the health rules of Bangladesh seems to be weak. Indeed, the rules of hygiene can not be enforced only through strictness and punishment.
A number of strategies can be applied to motivate people to use mask. 1. ‘No mask no service’ initiative does not seem to be effective. If it can be truly implemented, it must be somewhat successful. 2. Surveillance should be increased at various road junction, cheek posts and crowded places. 3. Mosque-based campaigns can be run, especially on Fridays. 4. This problem can be solved somewhat by distributing mask among the floating people. 5. People need to be involved in this regard locally and through the youths of the neighborhood. 6. Institutional and accommodation based activities should be carried out. 7. Where many people work together, it is important to ensure mask and need institutional supervision. 8. People need to be better informed about the danger of not using mask. 9. People can be made aware by miking in crowded areas. 10. Ensuring people wearing mask in public transport. 11. The number of mobile courts in Dhaka city can be further increased. 12. Print media, mass media and social media can play a vital role to motivate the people.
Most people in Bangladesh are not aware of horrendous effect of corona. If people can be truly made aware of the horrors of corona, it will bring benefits a lot. The easiest way to make people aware is to involve the local people’s representatives. Frankly speaking, mask is now our only hope as an alternative to the vaccine. Corona spreads to others through the corona patient’s cough and sneeze. As eighty percent of those infected have no symptoms, so there is no way to know who is healthy and who is sick. So using mask is the easiest solution to avoid corona. In short, failing to motivate people to use mask can lead to a terrible danger.
(Mr. Mannan is Assistant Professor, BAF Shaheen College Kurmitola, Dhaka Cantonment).
