Patience and discipline crucial in COVID-19 crisis

Family members, wearing PPE kits, wait during cremation of a COVID-19 victim, at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

As the outbreak now tests us to the hilt, the key here is to keep a lid on our anger so that we negotiate this as calmly and competently as possible.

This does not refer to families waiting for medical facilities for their loved ones. This edit is not about that. Here, we focus on everyday tasks and our daily living, so that we go through this with less burden on our police force, less stress to all.

This paper had a piece on a top cop telling his staff that people may be frustrated and at the end of their tether because of yet another round of restrictions, and we must go easy on them while enforcing the fresh measures to arrest the spread of infections.

This is good thinking by the cops, but in the same way, we ourselves can give cops no reason to intervene so that they are free to police people on what really matters now, falling COVID protocols.

Let us maintain discipline at the few essentials stores that we have, maintain decorum and distancing at a chemist store for instance. Trying to jump queues and bickering leads to a fraught situation.

The Indian Railways is also working within new parameters with fresh restrictions imposed. Keep a cool head at the station and do co-operate with the checkers. Understand that these are uncertain times not just for you, but those who are running these services. Unfortunately, this should not be the case given that we need clarity but we must accept that there is a certain degree of confusion.

Starting from co-operating in co-operative societies to showing etiquette and respect in quotidian tasks, displaying the correct attitude when justifiably upbraided, all this will help us tide through what is a very challenging, frightening and bleak time.