Corona daily cases in Chennai average 1000 as denizens flout COVID protocols

As the Covid19 continues to take a spread across the city, adding over thousand new cases per day for straight ten days now, many people out on the streets, coffee cafes and shopping centres continue to be seen without wearing face masks and failing to practice social distancing.

The people still take these two oft-repeated rules for COVID management lightly at a time when the authorities paste posters in every meter gap reminding the public of the importance of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.  The fine has also been imposed on the violators of rules.    

However, if you take a walk through the Thiruvalluvar Salai road, one of the congested highways in Ramapuram, the commuters, and temple-goers and local people including women and children gather without maintaining COVID protocols.      

The street vendors irrespective of fruit or vegetable or flowers, can be seen selling their goods either without wearing masks or wearing it improperly.

Santhi, a flower vendor, who was one of merchants on the roadside, was seen without face masks as she kept shouting in the air to attract customers.

A few meters away, a wayside food stall is surrounded by a crowd of men and women. They eat foot items in the open space without maintaining social distancing. All of them appear to be equally carefree as they sit, eat and chat together.

‘I don’t have any fear of COVID 19 now. I am only scared of money lenders who come to me every evening for daily collection. If I am afraid of COVID 19, I could not pay them. That will be more dangerous to my health than COVID infection’, she quips.  

Saptathy, a street vendor, who sells fruits without wearing masks properly, asks how he could earn money if he is scared. ‘We have been going through a tough time without sales for several months. Now people started bustling in the roads. So we have to draw the attention of customers by shouting. Mask is always a barrier for it. That is why I placed the mask under the chin’, he adds.    

P. N Viswanathan, a concerned local resident, says the people have now taken all instructions by the authorities for granted. ‘If you go and do a reality check at the Arasamaram junction at 6pm, you can see at least 50 people every day who either don’t have a face mask or kept masks misplaced. The commuters often can’t move without touching each other as the road is congested. So authorities should strictly impose rules to convince violators. Otherwise the COVID situation remains to be the same’, he said.      

Concerning new infections that crossed 1,000 per day for ten straight days, he pointed out that the spread of virus can’t be contained without strict implementation of rules especially at a time when the city unlocked economic, commercial, social and other activities after months of a strict lockdown.

Meanwhile, authorities say they had registered over 60,000 cases of protocol violations including those related to institutions. ‘We have collected around Rs 1 crore in fines. The efforts to make people aware of the fact that they are not only putting themselves at risk but others too’, an official said.