False corona notions cause for concern

Salalah: As the authorities are trying their level best to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading, some denialists refuse to admit that the COVID-19 is real. They are living on some false notions to support their claims and cite lots of rumours as justification to their belief. Abdullah from Mirbat is a hard-working employee in the government sector. He is always on his toes to get things done and tries to wind up the day’s work as early as possible. But he is not convinced that the pandemic is real. He was seen conversing with his friend, who was duly masked and trying to maintain social distancing at a fuel station. He was polite enough to ask whether he can shake hands, to which his friend could not say ‘no’ and told Abdullah to just touch. After picking up the conversation, Abdullah said, “This corona is fake. I have been working daily, moving here and there, meeting clients and wearing masks only when pointed out by someone or places where entry without a mask is not allowed, and this is going on for the last six months.” He was trying to convince his friend, “Look nothing has happened to me despite not wearing a mask and not maintaining social distancing.” Abdullah is not the alone who is thinking on these lines. Many are not following the pandemic protocols and putting the government’s efforts of containing the pandemic at risk. Somehow or the other they are breaking the chain either by becoming victims of the disease themselves or spreading it to others. A senior doctor, who did not want to be named, called for more awareness about the disease. “It is not that they are deliberately defying. They are not following the protocols out of ignorance. No one in generations has seen a pandemic like this. There are examples that whenever a phenomenon of this magnanimity occurs many good and bad theories erupt. This is everyone’s responsibility to rule out those rumours and support the authorities in checking the virus’s spread.” “There are facts that masks are hugely effective in containing the virus. This small initiative along with social distancing can be hugely effective in containing the disease untill a proper medicine or vaccine is introduced,” he said.