No state mandates could change the popular mindset. That’s a sorry inference you’re most likely to draw when you look around. There’s a general disregard for Covid-related SOPs, a sort of indifference towards the second wave of the pandemic which has forced the rest of the world’s people to shelter in their homes.

The streets, the parks, the markets… there isn’t a public place in the city where you’d find people respecting the need to wear masks and practice social distancing. A few restaurants in posh localities which have redesigned their dine-in services in response to the pandemic, or some private banks that have laid out strict rules for the visitors/customers, are only exceptions to the rule.

In such a situation, what does the government do? Impose lockdown? Restrict access? Seal the shops found violating the SOPs? Fine those guilty of noncompliance? Perhaps, all of these. Before it’s too late.