Reporter’s Diary: Sharing shisha is irresponsible in Covid times

Every little action matters in the efforts to keep Covid-19 at bay

When Covid-19 was declared a pandemic in March, I watched the 2011 movie Contagion for the second time. Wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and not sharing items of personal use were shown as ways to stay safe from the virus.

As a journalist who has reported on incidents involving people’s lives ever since Covid-19 broke out, I have seen how during the first few days, many of people didn’t know how to cope with precautionary measures.

However, with the passage of time, everyone got used to the ‘new normal’.

But there still seem to be exceptions.

It was a Saturday afternoon when I went with a friend to a coffee shop in Ajman. The tables were arranged in line woth social distancing rules.

Two women were seated a few metres away, chatting and smoking shisha. I was shocked to see them smoking from the same hose despite fervent appeals by a waiter not to do so. Finally, the cafe manager had to intervene. He insisted that the women comply with the rules or leave the place. It was only then that they stopped sharing the hose.

We may not think twice about such actions, but we can no longer afford to do so.

Not wearing masks, not washing hands prpperly, or sharing the same cutlery is risky.

Please don’t take Covid protocols lightly.