The last mile against the virus

A famous philanthropic saying goes “In the joy of others lies our own”. Well, events unfolding on New Year’s Eve showed that this would now have to be rephrased as “In the joy of others lies our virus”. Anticipating a surge in silly behaviour, the government acted swiftly and decisively by deploying community police and ministry of health personnel to patrol hot spots such as Block 338  in Adliya, famous for its eateries and lounge scene. The result was that everybody was either warned for not complying or given penalties for ignoring warnings. Overall, this led to a much safer celebration of the advent of 2021 for all.
What is it that makes us adopt risky behaviour despite all the evidence to the contrary? Whether it is wearing seatbelts, smoking tobacco or sneezing in public during a pandemic, we refuse to obey the rules unless threatened with fine or dire consequences. Is it really that a fine of BD 20 or 200 is more effective to our minds than the thought of losing our lives or being hurt in an accident?
As we slowly get back to the transformed normal, we also need to be vigilant that all the precautions are observed so that this evil genie of a virus which we have managed to bottle up does not escape once more to threaten us. I do notice that many smaller restaurants do not check the temperatures or take details of diners and distancing seems to be cursory at best. Business owners must do their bit to enforce the regulations – this is the last mile before we can let down our guard and each one of us plays a vital role in maintaining the discipline of 2020 which we learnt through a trial by fire.
2021 will be the Year of the Vaccine. I urge as many Bahrain residents as possible to take the shot so that they can protect themselves and our community. Our government has done so much to make our Kingdom safer – we too should now reciprocate.
 
Captain Mahmood Al Mahmood