By the Editor: Siddharth Sehgal

Imagine if you could save lives by doing nothing and staying put at home? It’s not much to ask for but it seems too much for some people. People are organizing kitty parties at home, card playing sessions at rooftops and flouting lockdown law by getting exemption letters from highly placed friends, actually this last one only few can afford. The point is that a fraction of people can’t refrain from socializing and they think that somehow they won’t be infected with Corona virus or if they do get infected, it won’t be worst than the common flu.

Death doesn’t knock on the door when it comes but why keep the door open with a welcome sign? We do not comprehend the gravity of the situation. Just because we do not have bodies piling up like US and Italy, are we thinking that it cannot happen here? The reason we have an extension on lockdown is that some people did not obeyed the self isolation rule and it, the lockdown, can go well beyond April 30, if we don’t flatten the curve. But the thing with measures like lockdowns is that they cannot go on forever. At some point, due to rising economic cost and public pressure, we’d have to reopen the system  and that is when we will feel the pinch of reality. We do not have a health infrastructure to deal with millions of patients let alone in thousands. We do not have enough ventilators; we do not have enough PPE or testing kits if this goes out of hand.

Also there is belief that is being spread in WhatsApp chat groups is that if you are from certain religious community or group, you won’t get the virus. People are encouraged to not only hide the infected but also to not cooperate with health care workers and Police and in some cases, to attack them. Just today there was news of Nihangs attacking Police in Punjab and a policeman lost his hand in the scuffle. The policemen, sanitation workers, emergency responders, doctors and nurses are out there on streets trying to protect us from this pandemic. Areas have to be sealed because of such stupidity and people are seemingly oblivious to the danger this threat possess to them and their own family.

The virus does not see religion, caste, creed or the spiritual guru you follow. Please stay indoors, if not for others, at least stay where you are for your own sake.