‘People in south Kashmir treating lockdown as holiday’

People idling together in mosques, outside shop fronts, visiting hospitals for ‘hair loss’

‘People in south Kashmir treating lockdown as holiday’

Anantnag: Even as the administration is trying its best to impose a lockdown, people here in south Kashmir do not seem to be mindful of the gravity of the situation. Many shops are still open, especially mutton shops, and people are taking no precautions while thronging these shops. There is an even greater throng at local hospitals, where people are coming for issues as trivial as “hair loss” and “general weakness”, irate doctors told Kashmir Reader.
Despite the government issuing phone numbers of doctors who should be contacted in case of regular ailments, people in south Kashmir have not stopped visiting hospitals. Several doctors that Kashmir Reader talked to said that they continue to receive patients with minor complaints, throughout the day.
“Just today I received patients who complained of hair loss and general weakness. We are exhausted in trying to make people understand how scary the situation is. Nobody is ready to listen,” a doctor at one of the sub-district hospitals (SDHs) in Anantnag said.
He said that the situation is such despite the hospital administration using the local Auqaaf committee to make announcements at local mosques to urge people to stay at home.
“This not only puts the general public in danger but the doctors and the paramedics as well. We are short of safety gear and every patient we examine puts us to risk,” the doctor said.
Other daily activities continue as well. The milkmen, the vegetable hawkers, and other tradesmen continue to roam freely in the interiors.
“Moreover, people have not stopped visiting each other’s homes. The mosques are now even fuller, as people are home and have nothing better to do. People sit and chat on shop fronts, spreading gossip and rumours about the coronavirus,” a local resident said.
The situation may change now that two new coronavirus cases have been detected in Srinagar.

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