Coronavirus alert: How effective is it?

Rezaul Karim is an autorickshaw driver working in Dhaka for one and a half decades. He pulled over beside a teashop at Segunbagicha on Friday afternoon to get some food.

He said he had heard about the global spread of the coronavirus, which has infected three people in Bangladesh as well.

“We are illiterate. We haven’t thought much about it,” he said when asked about the measures people should take to avoid catching the virus.

Rezaul said he knows about the advice that people need to frequently wash their hands.

“As you’ve seen now, I’ve eaten a cake without washing my hands. Where will I get soap and water in the street? I can’t do it even if I wish to. I will freshen up once I'm at home,” he said.

Like the rest of the world, people in Bangladesh are panicking and have wrong ideas about the spread of the virus.  

Experts emphasise cleanliness and personal hygiene to stop the coronavirus outbreak. Along with the government, conscious netizens are campaigning on social media while the mainstream media are publishing news to raise awareness.

But most of the people bdnews24.com spoke with in Dhaka on Friday said they do not have a clear idea about what they should do in the time of the coronavirus.

And the question also arises over how the residents of the densely populated city will be able to maintain hygiene even if they want to.  

Shafayet Ullah, a teacher at a school at Khilgaon, thinks the government should take effective measures besides raising awareness so that the people can maintain hygiene while travelling in the city.

“The government can keep soaps and water at every corner so that the people can wash their hands,” he said.

Experts say public transport, banknotes and helmets of ridesharing services can play a key role in spreading the virus.

ABM Abdullah, a former dean at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University’s medicine department, however, sees nothing to panic about going out of home now.

“The situation is not so bad in Bangladesh that the people will have to avoid public transport,” he told bdnews24.com.

‘Shrabon’, a motorcycle driver who provides ridesharing services, said the company has provided him with a helmet which the passengers use.

He said he mops the helmet with a tissue or a piece of cloth after every passenger gets down as a precaution, but he is not sure whether it is enough.

Shrabon said he was aware that hand sanitisers can kill the coronavirus, but it was too costly for him to use as the prices have already shot up amid fears of the coronavirus.

Polash Chandra Banik, a customer at a kitchen market in Malibagh, pointed to the crowds there and said it will be impossible for the people to avoid gatherings.

“It’s easy to be aware at home, but whenever I go out, I bump into others. I can’t avoid this no matter how desperate I'm,” he said.            

Abdul Alim, a chicken seller at Rampura kitchen market, wore a mask.

He said he has been using it to protect himself from dust much before the coronavirus outbreak started. 

He resigned himself to his fate. “What shall we do if we get infected? Nothing. We have Allah.”