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“Sidon Township is bankrupt and needs support. Therefore, he announced that the city is afflicted with Corona to get the money. A summary reached by the young man who works in a cleaning company, which allows him to enter the houses and shops of the city on a daily basis. He, like many of his relatives and neighbors in Old Sidon, was never convinced of preventive measures, such as wearing a mask or sterilization. In front of his neighbor’s store, he enters a discussion with others about the pandemic, which ends with a marked contrast of opinion between agreeing and opposing its existence and its prevention. The neighbor throws her hookah smoke at those around her before confidently saying, “It’s a strong crepe (infiltrator), not new to us,” while her sister embraces the conspiracy theory, as “hospitals classify deliberately to patients and deaths as injured to receive money from the state for each case, “he denies. Acutely, the “accusations” of the virus are spreading. He listed the names of many of those said to have tested positive for PCR tests, insisting on questioning their infection: “When mad cow disease spread, we enjoyed eating cheap meat. And when bird flu became common, we got sick from chickens. And when they warned of the pollution of the sea, we enjoyed all kinds of fish. We continue well ». The owner of the neighboring hairdresser does not deny the existence of the virus, but is not convinced of the feasibility of wearing the muzzle despite contact with dozens in a place that does not exceed two meters. The muzzle, for him, is not a solution. “The solution is the general closure … But this is impossible because the state cannot ensure people’s livelihood if they stop working.”
In one of the narrow streets that run through the town of Sidon, the old man leaves his house towards the mosque to perform congregational prayer, as he used to do daily. Between his house and the mosque he sees no sunlight, which is blocked by dilapidated buildings leaning against each other and tangled power “cables.” His slender body writhes, which is touched by the bodies of passersby. Someone advised him to wear a mask because he suffers from chronic diseases. He pulled out a grayish-white piece of dirt. She put it in her mouth while he murmured, “I have Corona at home,” referring to the humidity that eats away at the walls and ceiling. The old man heard that many of the wounds in Sidon were infected inside the mosques. “I pray while sitting in the chair in the corner, away from the faithful,” she said to reassure him.
These “interpretations” are not limited to “general” ones only. One of the mayors that the Ministry of the Interior and the associations use to publicize the virus, confirms that there is “an inflated number of infections, and the numbers are much lower.” As for the Corona deaths, he linked it to the fact that “death is upon us. People are afraid of the month of February because they believe that it will take the lives of the elderly. And now he’s scared of Corona for the same reason. From here on, the causes were numerous and death was the same »!
Dealing with Corona at Old Sidon seems complicated. Not only because some people are unaware of its danger and preventive measures, but also because of the structural and social obstacles that make controlling it an impossible task. In an area of just a few kilometers, thousands live, amid high population density and unsanitary conditions, in cramped houses that are affected by humidity due to their proximity to the sea. How is the way to achieve social distancing, mandatory or preventive quarantine, in compact cubes?
The lady in the alley avoids thinking that she or her son might be infected with the virus. Its simple capabilities only allow it to wear a muzzle. As for anything else, like sterilization and separation, you have no capacity to do so. She lives with her son in a house that was originally a small hallway under an arch that was blocked by stones, making it a one-bedroom, one-bathroom house. “All people are at God’s door. Nobody can stand anyone ”, referring to the impossibility of one of them leaving the house if they force him to stone.
It is difficult to comply with preventive measures not only because of recklessness, but because of the population density and unsanitary conditions in compact housing.
In a house of no more than seventy meters, a whole family was infected with the virus. Its members contracted the infection from a relative who lives next door and spend a lot of time with him, especially eating hookah. One of them was his most difficult symptom. “He died and he lived. His extremities became dry, his lungs became inflamed and his temperature rose, which required his hospitalization, “said his mother. The latter was also injured, along with her husband, children and daughter-in-law, with the exception of one who emphasized prevention, because she suffers from a disease. Although they recovered, the family did not break their old habits. On the day of the festival, they gather in the little house, eat food and hookah, go for walks and wander among people sometimes without a mask, because they think they have immunity against Corona! What hurt them the most about that pandemic was not the shortness of breath or the pain and heat in their bones, but the fact that they avoided neighbors and relatives even after they recovered. “As if we had AIDS,” the mother complains.
1150 cases in Sidon
According to Mustafa Hegazy, the head of the Disaster and Crisis Management Unit in Saida Municipality, the cumulative number of injured in Sidon and its suburbs reached 1,343 at the end of last week. Regarding the total number of active cases, yesterday Tuesday it closed around 1150, while the new cases that were registered in Sidon during the last week amounted to 200, compared to 41 in the Ain El-Helweh camp and 175 in the suburbs of Sidon. As for the number of deaths since the beginning of the crisis, it has reached 15. Hegazy links the increase in the number to the recklessness of people as they continue to carry out their normal activities, from work to social events and frequenting restaurants and clubs nocturnal. He noted that municipal police do not have the power to control violations and force people to comply, but they do need coverage and support from security services.
Quarantined … and coming back from the stone
In the bedroom of her three daughters, Mona (50 years old) spends her period of mandatory confinement after she was diagnosed with Corona a few days ago. Between the small room and the adjacent bathroom, she was isolated in the two-story house, in which she lived with her family and her husband’s family. So far, none of its residents have tested positive, although they do participate in all activities, from eating to night parties. Her family, who survived the symptoms of the pandemic, suffer from confusion due to the absence of the housewife. “The whole family is defenseless and the house is damaged,” he says in a call with “Al-Akhbar.” Her sister provides her with food to boost her immunity, such as dried fruits and vegetable soup. As for her husband, he works to meet her needs and puts her in front of the door.
But a Sunni (22 years old) could not bear the burden of managing her home after being infected with the virus. She never left her room, which was mostly alone. At the beginning of the stone, which lasted 11 days, she felt that she was imprisoned in a narrow cell, before she began to discover her room and her things, which many of them did not notice, “because I used to spend most of the time outside of home between work, walking and staying up late. ” The highlight of its rediscovery is the dusty gym. She exercised, danced, and spent time singing and watching movies. The important thing is that you had enough time to write to friends and family who had been offline for a long time. But she yearned for the “kazdoura” between her room and the refrigerator, which meant as much as she loved food. After confirming her recovery, she was released from her prison.
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