People reluctant to help suspected virus patients

Man lies on ground for half-an-hour but no one goes near him

RAWALPINDI: The coronavirus scare has gripped the minds of people to such an extent that a feeble elderly man fell down at a metro bus station and nobody rushed to help him.

Be it an accident or a catastrophe, the local people were famous for volunteerism. However, people waiting for the bus at the IJP metro bus station got scared by a man who suddenly fell unconscious while descending the station’s stairway.

The metro bus staff and people, already scared by the pandemic, thought he was a coronavirus (COVID-19) patient and avoided going near him for help and instead called the health department helpline 1166.

The feeble old man kept lying on the stairs of the IJP metro bus station for almost half-an-hour when health department officials finally arrived at the station and moved him patient to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in an ambulance.



The health officials said that it was too early to say whether the victim was infected with coronavirus or not, although he was displaying all symptoms of the contagious disease. The station management washed the premises after the victim was shifted away.

Masks must on metro bus

The Rawalpindi Metro Bus Authority (MBA) has made wearing face mask mandatory for riding in its bus service.

MBA has announced that passengers without a face or any other thing to cover their face would not be allowed to get on the bus. MBA Rawalpindi Operations Manager Shumaila Mohsin told The Express Tribune that the measure, effective from March 22, had been taken to protect the people from COVID-19.

She said it would be mandatory for all passengers, men or women, to either wear a mask or cover their face with any thing such as a handkerchief, scarf, dupatta, hijab, and such.

The official asserted that passengers ignoring the instructions would not be allowed to board the bus. She said MBA was committed to providing the best transportation facilities to over 0.1 million commuters between the twin cities daily. Mohsin further told that they were spraying disinfectants on all stations regularly and in buses after ever and in buses after every round. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2020.