Govt should take help of NGOs, other social outfits to hold drives in villages on importance of getting tested for Covid

Residents , especially rural citizens, have expressed frustration at some administrative policies regarding the innoculation drive. In my opinion, it is not the fault of villagers but the lack of spread of awarness by the administration regarding the benefits of getting vaccinated. People in rural areas needed to aware properly with given detailed information about the gravity of the pandemic. Local representatives should have accompanied health workers during the collection of Covid samples and vaccination drives to ensure that health workers were not harassed.

Amarpreet Kaur

OPEN HOUSE QUESTION

With the number of daily cases, deaths and even active patients coming down drastically, Ludhiana district continues to remain under tight restrictions of a daily 12-hour curfew and complete weekend lockdown. Should the restrictions be eased or be continued to avert the much-anticipated third Covid wave? Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to ludhiana.feedback@gmail.com

Give police protection to healthcare workers

The news of health workers getting attacked during Covid sample collection from villages and surrounding areas was extremely disturbing. The attack on frontline workers is completely unjust. The administration must depute the heads of villages for spreading awareness about the pandemic and how to deal with it. Health workers must have been given some police force so that such incident could be prevented. Special campaigns must also be organised to tell people how testing is helpful is curbing the spread of the virus. Residents must also come forward and lend their support by assisting health workers and local government.

Farzana Khan

Quacks spreading misinformation

Healthcare workers have continued to serve people with great courage during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many have even lost their lives to the virus and the news of attack on these frontline warriors by misguided elements is deplorable. Many misconceptions are being propagated by quacks regarding the efficacy of the allopathic medicine system. These quacks, having little knowledge of the subject, have misguided villagers about the pandemic. To make sure that healthcare workers are not attacked, NGOs and other social outfits should come forward and help the government spread awareness about the virus in rural areas and educate them about the benefits of Covid testing and getting vaccinated.

Raghbir Sembhi

Holding awareness sessions need of the hour

Although there has been a significant drop in Covid-19 cases, prevention is still better than cure. People who do not pay heed to Covid-19 guidelines and violate them must be penalised, be it villagers or people living in urban areas. The attack on healthcare workers in rural areas is proof that awareness about the virus has not reached the interior areas. The administration can team up with sarpanches of villages and social outfits of the region to make villagers aware about the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also necessary that villagers are told the importance of getting vaccinated to curb the spread of the virus. After all, a stitch in time saves nine.

Chaitya Markanda

Engage sarpanches to spread awareness

After an attack on healthcare workers was reported, it is now important that security is given to them whenever they go to collect Covid samples from remote areas and villages. Villagers must be sensitised about the ill-effects of this virus. The government must also send teams for counselling of villagers so they may feel motivated to give samples for testing. In each village, the job of spreading awareness must be carried under the supervision of the sarpanch of that village. The government can also take the help of NGOs so that health workers do not face any problem. Special drives must be carried out to encourage villagers to get tested if they experience symptoms related to coronavirus.

Dr Mohd Saleem Farooqui

Encourage villagers to reveal symptoms

In these tough times, we should be thankful to healthcare workers who are risking their lives and compromising with their own health for taking care of Covid-19 patients. It is only by respecting Covid guidelines that we can reduce the burden on healthcare workers and win the invisible fight against the virus. But there are some misconceptions about the virus and healthcare workers in the minds of villagers and people living in remote areas. To remove such obstacles in the fight against the virus, awareness campaigns must be organised to tell villagers about the importance of coming forward to reveal if they have symptoms of Covid and getting tested for the same. This will help in reducing the attacks on healtcare workers when they go to such places to collect Covid samples.

Ritu Priya

Attack on health workers deplorable

It is really shocking and shameful that healthcare workers, who are working round the clock and putting their own lives at risk to fight the pandemic, have been attacked by residents of a village in Ludhiana. The attack is unacceptable. The strictest actions need to be taken against the culprits. Villages sarpanches must come forward to assist healthcare teams and assure their safety. If such incidents are not stopped now, then the war against the pandemic will suffer a setback. It is the need of the hour to ensure safety of healthcare workers.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

Residents should unite to fight virus

The war against the pandemic requires unity of residents from both urban and rural areas. Our healthcare workers are frontline warriors, many of whom have not been able to cater to their own families for more than a year now. The Resident Welfare Associations and social outfits should join hands with the administration to help spread awareness about the virus in rural and remote areas so that attacks on healtcare workers can be stopped. A security team must always accompy the workers so that they do not experience such harassment in the future.

Jassica Goyal

Support healthcare workers to defeat virus

To win this fierce battle against Covid-19, we need to stand by our healthcare workers at all costs. They risk their own lives to save the lives of patients. At no cost, should they be harassed, abused and attacked. This results in underestimating their role in the fight against the virus. It is high time to boost their morale rather than abusing them and calling modern system of medicine a fraud.

Dr Sunil Chopra

Responsible behaviour imperative to curb attacks

Curbing the pandemic is not possible through medical care alone. It is largely possible with more responsible community behaviour, be it social distancing, staying home and wearing a face mask. More important is public participation in healthcare advisories. The problem of rural folk not cooperating with healthcare workers and even a few incidents of getting violent is a case of poor communication and counseling. The panchayats must show some responsibility. The solution lies in creating effective opinion leadership. The local governments should counsel panchayat members through extensive online meetings and personal interactions. Community counseling can also help in solving such issues. The village educated youth can be roped in to aware others about the virus.

Dr Harpreet Singh

Disrespect to health workers intolerable

We are living in testing times. It is the responsibility of all family members to take care of each other and keep the virus at bay, be it rural or urban families. This self-awareness, in turn, helps doctors and nurses to fight against the virus in hospitals. But when we read and hear about healthcare workers getting attacked, it represents the fact that awareness about the disease has not reached rural and remote areas. The government should join hands with social organisations, NGOs, residents and youth to make people aware about the virus and the benefits of getting tested. Villagers should be encouraged to come forward and reveal if they are experiencing symptoms of the virus.

Simranjeet Kaur

Support from rural areas of utmost importance

It is our moral responsibility to be polite to healthcare workers who are risking their own lives to keep Covid-19 patients safe. Misconceptions in the minds of people have been fed by quacks and other sinister groups, who provoke people to do such unethical actions. It is the most unfortunate residents are falling for the trap that misguided elements have set for them. It was completely wrong of villagers to attack healthcare workers who had come to collect Covid samples. A strong vigil needs to be created to bring to light these miscreants. In this hour of crisis, we all need to be united to fight against the virus.

JBS Nanda

Spreading awareness is the only solution

Covid-19 is here to stay for a long time now and the battle to fight it does not seem to be ending. Health workers have put every effort to fight this battle but some residents do not care two hoots about it. Many people, especially from rural areas, still have stigma attached to testing and vaccination. The only way to get rid of their fear is to spread awareness about the importance of getting tested and vaccinated. This will also help in reducing attacks on healthcare workers.

Sharanpreet Kaur