Hyderabad: Social distancing becoming a reality

Hyderabad: Taking no chances and not leaving it to the public entirely to keep away from one another to keep the dreaded Covid 19 at bay, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has taken upon itself to ensure social distancing.

The measure is not only driving message home but also earning plaudits for the public health initiative of the civic body. Its staff is facilitating delineation of markings at supermarkets and vegetable markets.

"So far, we have marked the one-meter distance blocks in Chandhanagar, Kondapur, Erragadda areas. We request each and every supermarket and groceries stores to ensure their customers maintain a minimal one-meter distance among them to help them prevent from COVID-19," said Ravi Kiran, Zonal Commissioner, GHMC, Serilingampally.

Social distancing is described as one of the measures to tame the virus by Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The WHO urges the citizens to maintain 3 feet or 1 meter distance from one another, especially when a person is coughing or sneezing.

"We request citizens to be away from mass gatherings and maintain distance of approximately 6 feet distance. Mostly, while reaching the public areas like vegetable markets and other areas citizens must wear a mask. Along with masks people can also wear gloves for better prevention," said A Ramesh, Deputy Commissioner, Yousufguda.

Citizens welcome the move "Social distancing may be difficult but important to save ourselves and society from the deadly corona virus," said V Vinay, a software engineer at Google.

"Social distancing works effectively to control the spread of virus and it also helps to decrease the rate of cases which are increasing day by day," said K Ashwini, teller, Axis Bank.

"Whatever we are doing like wearing mask and sanitizing hands, must be done in a proper way to limit the spread of disease," said K Arvind, interior designer, Live Space.