SAMEER DESHPANDE
AURANGABAD, AUG 10: The third wave of Covid-19 in peaked in mid-July 2021 in the United Kingdom. The UK government had lifted coronavirus restrictions on July 19 after the reduction in number of patients. Still, the third wave is underway and around 27,429 new patients were found in the country on August 8.
AurangabadFirst spoke to two natives of the city, Lalita James and Sanghapal Shelke who reside in Britain, about their daily life during the Covid-19 pandemic. They expressed satisfaction over the way the situation was handled in the UK. During the third wave, restrictions like avoiding crowding are in place but otherwise, life is going on as usual. It’s not mandatory to use masks and vaccination drive is being implemented vigorously. Wearing masks is not compulsory, they said.
Lalita James (53), who is the vice-president (sales and marketing, Europe) at Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, stays in London. She has worked from home since April 2020. Lalita, who completed her education in the city, had received a gold medal in MBA from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. Essential shops were open throughout the lockdown with a limit in the number of people allowed in shops, she told this scribe. Public transport like the London Underground (metro train) is open with limited capacity and social distancing.
Schools reopen, bio-bubble in place
Lalita’s son is in the 10th standard. After online schooling last year, the UK schools started for this academic year in March 2021 with bio-bubble practice. (See box)
Sanghapal Shelke (37), who completed computer science engineering from the city, is associated with Barclays Bank and resides in Manchester. Sanghapal has been working from home since April last year.
Initially, in April 2020 there was shortage of groceries and some resorted to hoarding. But the situation quickly came back to normal and now there is adequate supply and all the shops are open following Covid-19 norms.
Good work by NHS
Sanghapal praised the National Health Service of the UK for handling Covid-19 crisis. At first, only those with symptoms were tested for Covid-19 and later the testing was opened for all, he said. If required, you can dial the emergency number and your health emergency is taken care of. You can get an ambulance with just a phone call, he added.
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Bio bubble in UK schools
The students of a class are required to restrict their interaction to only members of their class. They are advised not to interact with other persons like students from other classes. Only the students of that particular class can access the specific classroom. If a Covid-19 positive student is found in one classroom it is suspended for a week and all the students of the said class are tested for Covid-19.