Corona SOPs

Let’s face it, we are not a disciplined nation nor are we an educated one. On the contrary we are ignorant and badly misinformed mass of people believing in supra naturals, myths and mythologies, rituals and practices without knowing the rationale behind them. Unfortunately, our semi-literate clergy who has a great hold on our masses is at daggers draw with the modern, scientific and logical interpretation of Islam and its practices and dubs it all outright unIslamic (ghair sharaei). Strongest of all beliefs is if Allah wills that I should have Coronavirus, I will have it. And if Allah doesn’t will so I shall not have it.  Doesn’t it amount to saying by someone standing with arms raised to stop an on rushing locomotive train that if Allah wills me to die I will die and if not, I shall stop the train?!

Therefore, I think no amount of SOPs and Social Distancing warnings shall have any effect upon us and we shall keep going to the mosques, shops and malls and now the Mazaraats & Khanqahs in hordes and crowds and that too without observing any SOP for visiting such places.  Then what to do?

According to a study on Face Masks, it was inferred that if you wear the mask there are 70 percent chances of you getting infected with Covid-19. But if the infected person wears the mask and you don’t, then there 5 percent chances of you getting infected.  But if both the infected person and you wear the masks then there are only 1.5 percent chances of you getting infected.  Hence I think the govt. should make it mandatory for all to wear face mask when outdoors in public.  Heavy fines should be imposed upon anyone violating this rule. May be we could contain the spread of the Coronavirus to a great degree.

Col. Syed Riaz Jafri (Retd)