Whilst the number, of COVID cases, in the UAE is reducing, I am shocked to read of the alarming rise in cases back home in India.

COVID is not a flu, so I wonder why the public is is so lax and callous, despite precautionary heath measures being put in place.  

The situation back home is getting worse day by day and now comes another episode of a few states ready to be locked down. But, it’s not a time to panic rather a time to take action, stay safe, and sanitize. We are now living in a world where we need to sanitize everything and ourselves from time to time.  Our lifestyles have also changed to everything now being confined within the four walls of our home and our communication virtual.

India is in the grips of a public health emergency. Social media feeds are full of videos of COVID-related funerals at crowded cemeteries, wailing relatives of the dead outside hospitals, long queues of ambulances carrying gasping patients, mortuaries overflowing with the dead, and patients, sometimes two to a bed, in corridors and lobbies of hospitals. There are frantic calls for help for beds, medicines, oxygen, essential drugs, and tests. Drugs are being sold on the black market, and test results are taking days. This is how grim the situation is.

All this also means that travellers to India have to be vigilant and adhere to COVID protocols, carry out PCR test, prior and on arrival. Generally, travelling is a big hassle these days with too many dos, and don’ts

What we need to do individually, is maintain social distancing irrespective of whether it is mandatory or not, wear the masks properly. In short, respect ourselves and the other as far as health protocols go. Stay safe and keep others safe, too.

Mathew Litty

Dubai