While a lot of places have been able to fight the first wave of the deadly infection, some are still witnessing the peak. Nonetheless, we are all looking at a foreseeable future where social distancing and disinfection will be needed to keep the virus at bay.
In public places and institutions which have opened up, contactless thermal scanners, hand sanitizing machines have come up; even social distancing is being strictly adhered to.
Now, a new set of rules advising people to avoid MEN and follow WOMEN have also come up, in some places. Yes, you read that right.
Photos are now going viral on social media from a school in the Middle East where some rather ‘strict’ guidelines were issued for students while staying away from homes.
While
COVID-19 has been found to impact men and women differently, the guidelines under question do not pertain to that. Instead, the rules make use of some funny abbreviations.
As seen in the photos, the first slide advises people to not touch MEN, where MEN stands for ‘Mouth Eyes Nose’.
The second slide makes mention of following WOMEN, which stands for ‘‘Wash your hands, Obey social distancing, Mask up, Excercise and eat well and No unnecessary crowding’.
As hilarious as the terminology is, we think it’s a brave effort to educate people and raise awareness on the precautions needed right now.
Soon enough, the precautions were seen at other places as well. It went viral on the internet in no time and many netizens felt inspired to use these inspirational signs as well.
Why we should not take COVID precautions lightly
We are looking at a scenario wherein living with the virus might as well be the new normal. WHO has predicted that COVID causing SARS-COV-2 virus won’t be going away super soon and COVID-19 won’t be the last pandemic as well. Even when we do get a vaccine ready, social distancing and non-medical interventions shall need to be followed to an extent.
As for the cities which have bounced back to life, transmission risk still remains a tad bit high, which is primarily because people have been stepping out without following distancing measures or using masks in crowded places. Hence, practising these hygiene protocols, following orders and staying at home, when possible should be strictly adhered to. Repeated studies conducted in the past months have also shown that without social distancing, or wearing masks, droplets can travel up to six feet distance at a time, circulate in the environment for a long time and spread the infection. Wearing a mask, or safeguarding oneself can effectively cut short the risk of infection and transmission.