Self-regulation in India needs a headmaster

The country has also recorded its fourth death attributed to the virus. Four deaths in a week should be a clear wake-up call to the public – which has been advised to adopt a stance of social distancing.

However, the severity of the pandemic is yet to sink into the Indian psyche. Media is rife with reports of violations of quarantine guidelines issued by the government where the people in question displayed complete insouciance towards the seriousness of the pandemic.

In neighbouring Kerala, a family that returned from the Vatican concealed its travel history, but later tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, the reception given to a Malayali reality TV star by over 50 fans at Kochi airport drew the government’s ire, leading to many arrests.

In Maharashtra, four quarantined inmates of a government hospital discharged themselves without informing the authorities. The most recent case of disregard for the rules was seen when a railway official in Bengaluru was suspended for hiding her son, who returned from abroad and tested positive for COVID 19.

In Chennai, a research scholar from IIT-Madras, frightened co-passengers in a bus by feigning to be infected by the virus and bringing the vehicle to a halt. It later turned out to be a ‘truth or dare’ prank.

These violations are taking place when nations across the world are attempting to flatten the coronavirus curve. Taiwan and South Korea are being lauded for containing the spread, thanks to a cooperative populace and digital media being used right.

Taiwan developed an app that allowed incoming air passengers to submit their travel histories to the govt in seconds – saving them valuable time while testing. However, in India, people are either letting panic take hold, or are trivialising the need for self-imposed quarantines. A lot rests on how the nation responds to the PM’s call to action for a Janata Curfew on Sunday, else going ahead, self-regulation will need to be a highly regulated affair.