Dr. Matiur Rahman & Shishir Reza :
The Corona pandemic has turned the world upside-down. Its impact on the socio-economic structure of every country in the world from 2020 to date has not been noticed in the last few decades. In the beginning there was no effective vaccine or medicine to prevent this disease. Despite the discovery of the vaccine as a result of the relentless efforts of scientists, doubts remain about its 100 percent effectiveness. Although its application has already started in different countries in the world but its production and supply is not enough until yet.
In this context, from the very beginning, the World Health Organization has formulated a number of guidelines, including maintaining social distances, as the only effective way to prevent the spread of the disease. From the very beginning, the Government of Bangladesh has adopted a number of policies provided by the World Health Organization to minimize the transmission of Covid-19. Policies include lifestyle changes, use of face masks, restriction of movement, social distance and hygiene practices. In addition, initiatives have been taken to create awareness among the people using national and local media, government and different non-government organizations to strengthen private hygiene practices in the public and private spaces.
Despite all these a very large majority of the people are reluctant to practice such guidelines. The causes are including mass poverty and other social issues. According to a report the poor people like, daily laborers, hawkers, rickshaw-van pullers and mobile micro businessmen are forced to break social distancing merely to survive.
The report also revealed that social distancing maintaining has become a challenge in the extensive socio-economic condition of the country. The poor people are queueing up to get goods offered as relief, for buying low-priced food grains offered by the government, and to avail low-cost transport.
According to report socio-cultural factors are sometimes may adversely influence compliance with the norms of social distancing. The situation is further complicated when people travel during holidays and festivals in crowded means of transport.
Another obstacle in maintaining social distancing is observation of religious ceremonies to which people automatically lean during stressful life. People prefer to attend religious gatherings as religion provides hope and a sense of social solidarity.
In the report it has also mentioned that the economic, physical and cultural environment in which people of Bangladesh live, the practice of social distancing is often a big challenge. Furthermore, lack of awareness about Covid-19, inadequate knowledge of, attitudes to and practice of social distancing are factors that make the Covid-19 epidemic a huge threat to the nation. At the same time, issues such as poverty, hunger, and the fear of losing employment are very important causes of peoples’ noncompliant behavior.
Wearing of a mask is most important and it is one of the essential and effective tools to limit the spread of infection caused by Covid-19. Wearing a mask to control the transmission of infections is crucial. A good portion of the people in urban areas is also not compliant to the guidelines to prevent spreading of the disease. Therefore, it is a challenge for the Government to influence people and make them aware about this transmittable nature of the virus. In order to do that, strict measures may be taken to ensure compliance with social distancing and wearing of mask in public places during this pandemic period.
(Dr. Matiur Rahman is Research Consultant, Human Development Research Centre and Shishir Reza is Associate Member, Bangladesh Economic Association)
