A sad story from Egypt started with a well-built healthy young man, who was dismissing claims about the dangers of the coronavirus. He was saying the disease is as simple as the common cold, and that we should not have this fear, which is not necessary. He also bragged about how healthy his people are and can resist such a disease.

A few days ago, the same young man was shown on television, infected with the virus, and actually the video showed this man during his last hours, suffering severely from the symptoms before passing away. I hope and pray to Allah that people do not become complacent as time goes by, and risk being infected with the coronavirus because just one mistake may cause problems to many people who will suffer a lot and go through the torturous journey to recovery, I hope.

I am also shocked at the death of doctors - some of whom I met on occasions - because of COVID-19, and some are under treatment right now. May Allah grant them speedy recovery. So this is clear evidence that the virus does not discriminate at all - it does not see color, religion, profession, rich, poor or anything. It just hits and does not run at all - in fact it fights as fiercely as we do against it, and has claimed and is claiming lives in large numbers.
Let us keep complying with the authorities’ instructions and rules of common sense. If we look at statistics published by the health ministry, we realize how critical it is to be careful and considerate towards ourselves and others.

On May 4, there were 295 new cases and two deaths; the following day saw 526 cases with 11 in critical condition. May 6 saw 485 cases and two deaths. The numbers hovered around the same rate until May 10, when 1065 new cases were recorded, 19 of whom were in critical condition and nine deaths. Then on May 13, 751 cases were recorded including 11 critical cases, while there were seven deaths. The picture is very clear and self explanatory. Heed the warnings - stay home please!

Although the country is under a total curfew, authorities allowed people to go out for a walk around their homes every day for two hours in the afternoon. This is a good decision that will safeguard the physical and mental health of individuals, but what is not good are the scenes in some areas as I saw myself and on social media - people in large numbers walking close to each other, crossing in front of each other and standing and talking! Isn’t this defeating the purpose?! I am afraid this could be due to ignorance or negligence, though there is no excuse as the crisis has been ongoing for six months!
Finally, it was a good sight when policemen were distributing masks to people during the two-hour walk period, and I hope that the masks are used, and used correctly!
Final word: “Our spirit is to be considerate and have compassion for people. It is a social responsibility.” — Alan Wong