I am appalled that in spite of the very sincere efforts of the medical team and others to confront the coronavirus pandemic, I notice that the “conscious society” slogan is falling on deaf ears. It is sad that the people have failed to live up to expectations.
The World Health Organisation has now published a list of where the countries of the world are in their fight against this epidemic but, in Bahrain, we see that the ignorance and recklessness of the people have led to an increase in the number of infections in the last few days. Their unjustified stubbornness at non-compliance has been a disaster for all of us to see.
While I do not want anyone to accuse me of sectarianism, I feel the blame lies on the two parties – the honourable sect that did not abide by the instructions and the official authorities because they allowed gathering while not imposing strict measures. If the annual Haj could be cancelled this year, then why was there this insistence on offering condolences during Muharram?
There was also a lack of commitment to people wearing masks and this recklessness led to an increase in the number of infections, not to mention unjustified family gatherings.
Though I am now in Istanbul and see things here are almost normal in terms of commercial movement, I found a strong commitment by everyone in adhering to precautionary measures.
The fine for not wearing a mask in Turkey is 900 pounds (equivalent to BD50) and not BD5 as in Bahrain! This is the reason we find the number of violations increasing.
During these exceptional circumstances, we must not be emotional and impose strict measures with the force of law. Our elegant and gentle medical team is too soft and their attitude has backfired and did not bear fruit. The same was the case during the Eid holidays.
This is a sincere call from a citizen who loves his country and its soil. I hope the competent authorities start taking very strict measures to limit the increase in daily cases of infected people or contacts.
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