As the pandemic worsens we are being forced to go backwards into lockdowns that we were able to avoid until recently. Restaurants, for example, were allowed to serve meals indoors providing certain criteria were observed. Reduced capacity was an important factor, as was social distancing, sanitizing the hands, and the wearing of masks by patrons and staff. We had no problem obeying the rules. The restaurant owners for their part spent vast amounts of money to install Plexiglas partitions between tables and booths. At midnight on September 30, 2020 we took a giant step backwards forcing restaurants into a lockdown that many of them will not survive.
The Minister of Health had made it simple; Wash your hands, wear a mask, and do not congregate. However, wherever I look as I drive through the city I see groups of young people, without masks, congregating in parks and on sidewalks in front of snack bars and ice cream or yogurt stores. I put the blame solely on them for the increase of Covid-19 cases and deaths.
The Minister of Health is asking police to break up house parties. Why not ticket people gathering on streets and parks with their friends where none of them are wearing masks. They are much more visible and they are the root of the problem. They should be rounded up by police and obliged to produce photo ID in order to be ticketed and fined as are people who congregate in houses. If they cannot provide ID they should be taken to the local police station and held there till their parents come to pay the fine or post bail if they intend to dispute the charges.
For most of the population it is not a problem to follow a few simple rules, but because there are those that have no regard for public health, the wrong people are being punished.
