For Mohammad Wakil (23), social distancing is an abstract concept. Every working day, he shakes hands with scores of customers at the teeming bazaar where he sells secondhand shoes. He handles filthy bank notes. He disdains hand sanitiser. A mask? Forget about it.
âThereâs no coronavirus,â Wakil said in late October as shoppers swarmed his rickety stall. âItâs a lie told by the government.â
When the coronavirus pandemic first reached Afghanistan in March, the government struggled to shut down cities and persuade Afghans to wear masks, wash their hands and practise social distancing. The measures were haphazardly enforced for several weeks before citizens began to chafe under the restrictions.
Covid can t compete : In a place mired in war, the virus is an afterthought
21 Dec, 2020 01:15 AM
7 minutes to read
Patients being treated for the coronavirus at the Afghan-Japan Communicable Disease Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo / .Jim Huylebroek, The New York Times
New York Times
By: David Zucchino and Fahim Abed
In Afghanistan, life goes on as though the coronavirus never existed. Fake news, some say, even as a second wave has brought on a surge of new cases and hospitalisations. For Mohammad Wakil, 23, social distancing is an abstract concept. Every working day, he shakes hands with scores of customers at the teeming bazaar where he sells secondhand shoes. He handles filthy Afghan bank notes. He disdains hand sanitiser. A mask? Forget about it.
Last spring, pharmacies were overwhelmed by requests for purported virus treatments. But some pharmacists now say customers have convinced themselves that the virus isn’t worth a second thought, though some continue to seek miracle cures.
“People now think Covid is not a deadly illness, so they are not worried about it at all,” said Faizullah Faizbakhsh, a Kabul pharmacist.
At domestic airport terminals, passengers ignore faded circles on the floor intended to keep them six feet apart. Only some airport workers wear masks. Flight attendants are masked, but not all passengers wear the free masks provided. People nonchalantly cluster in movie theaters and shopping malls.