RIYADH: In the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Saudi Arabia took several measures ranging from total lockdown to partial curfews depending on the situation and the Kingdom also eased restrictions and allowed retail stores to reopen, but people should know that the battle against coronavirus will take a long, long time.
Dr. Mohammed Alhajji, a consultant in social and behavioral sciences and Ph.D. researcher at Temple University, took to Twitter to remind people that nothing about our understanding of the virus has changed since its appearance and urge them to continue to be cautious.
“So far, there is no confirmed treatment, no vaccine, and no herd immunity. We also don’t know much about the possibility of a second (wave of) infection. We still need quarantine, social distancing, and all possible precautions. It is vital that we resist being tempted into ignoring the seriousness of the threat,” he said.
Dr. Faheem Younus, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, also used social media to debunk a number of myths about the coronavirus. Tweeting from the “COVID frontlines,” Younus has been regularly posting important information about new developments and correcting misconceptions, such as the widely held belief that it will “disappear” in the summer.
HIGHLIGHT
There is no confirmed treatment, no vaccine, and no herd immunity.
Previous pandemics did not follow weather patterns.
“Previous pandemics didn’t follow weather patterns, plus as we enter summer, there will be winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The virus is global,” he tweeted.
He also cited a video about the US city of San Francisco ending their lockdown early during the 1918 influenza pandemic, when the city no longer required its citizens to wear masks in public after a lull in cases in November of that year. Cases shot up in December, forcing the city to reinstate the mask policy in January of 1919, but not before the death count had nearly doubled.
“The keyword is ‘early.’ Doctors want lockdowns to end too, but when the time is right. Don’t push your governments,” he said.
However, with the reopening of malls for the time being and the ability to leave the house without restrictions between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., many are torn between the concept of what this means for them and whether or not they should be leaving the house.
Maram Al-Khudairi, who works at a university, told Arab News that she has not left her house at all since the very first coronavirus case was announced in Saudi Arabia, and she has not let anyone from her household leave either, with the exception of her husband doing the grocery shopping.
“I have three kids, aged 17, 14, and 12. As much as they’re driving me crazy, and telling me that all their friends are going out now and they just want to leave the house for a little bit, I simply can’t risk it. I keep about how no one is social distancing and people have taken the lifting of the lockdown for granted,” she said.
“I’m no doctor, but I know enough to know that the safest place for me to be is at home with my family, protecting them the only way I know how,” she added.
However, others see this as an opportunity to test the waters a little, to see if life can resume a semblance of normalcy despite the ongoing pandemic.
“We Saudis are very social, so lockdown has been harder on us than most. Almost everyone I know has been affected mentally by being confined at home for so long,” said Khulood Al-Shareef, a schoolteacher and mother.
She pointed out that the strict measures in place in malls and supermarkets and the constant supervision by government authorities would go a long way to help people continue to be safe, as long as everyone did their best to protect themselves and others while out shopping.
“It goes back to the individuals themselves. Are you wearing a mask? Are you washing your hands? Are you disinfecting them when you touch things? If you protect yourself and try to protect others, I don’t see why you shouldn’t go out,” she said.
