COVID-19 has infected more than 1,162,772 people and killed 62,488 as of yesterday worldwide.
The United States alone reported death of 1,500 people in 24 hours yesterday. This situation has forced countries around the world to enforce strict restrictions to curb the spread of the pandemic.
These restrictions includes ban on public gatherings, staying home, maintaining ‘social distancing’, closing borders, suspension of all forms of businesses and education and events.
Accordingly, millions of people have been asked to stay at home in most of the countries, as the spread of the virus is not limited to certain countries. To raise awareness about the real threat being posed by COVID-19 to people’s lives and encourage them to comply with health requirements, the campaign ‘Stay Home’ was launched.
But it is worth noting that to what extent are health advises issued by health authorities asking people to regularly clean hands, maintain social distancing, avoid touching of eyes and nose, and other advisories are being followed and respected by the public.
The increasing rate of infection is making observers question the cooperation of the public to curb the spread of the virus as many countries have also deployed military forces to keep people under curfew. In Qatar no military deployment to enforce curfew has been imposed and daily life is moving smoothly while health authorities are battling to save lives and raise awareness.
The Ministry of Public Health has published a series of posts in social media “We are at work for you. Please stay home for us,” along with posters in different languages encouraging the public to help to curb the spread of the COVID- 19 by limiting their social interactions. Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Adbulaziz Al Thani recently tweeted urging the public to support the health staff by “adhering to the preventive health guidance and stay home.”
Preventative measures put in place by the governments to save lives of the peoples seems to be facing the challenge of lack of awareness, carelessness which could be observed when visiting malls and supermarkets these days. Authorities concerned are putting in place every requirements including healthcare, health guidance, rules and regulations for the safety of the people, but people continue to violate health rules. The lack of compliance with advises are increasing the risk of the people to get infected. So let us support the authority, save our others’ lives which is the core message of the ‘Stay Home’ campaign in Qatar.
