Hyderabad: Amid rising concerns of public negligence over Covid-19 safety precautions, drunken driving checks by the city police are becoming a cause of worry.
Weekend checks by the police to catch drivers driving their cars, or riding two-wheelers in a drunken state, are witnessing some policemen not replacing the disposable straws into which people are required to blow into to establish their blood alcohol levels.
Health experts warn that the practice of not replacing the disposable straws is ‘the worst anyone can think of’ in the cure circumstances. While there is already a big danger of the spread of Covid, there is also the risk of transmission of various other viral and bacterial diseases with the drunken driving tests.
The most likely to spread with the practice is the oral simplex disease on the borders of the lips, warned Dr Ranga Reddy Burri, president, infection control academy of India. “This practice of blowing into the breath analyzer can cause many infectious diseases apart from Covid. The Epstein Barr virus, HIV, the human papillomavirus, ebola and the Zika virus are some of the dangers of transmission through saliva,” he added.
The right to health is one of the most important rights of the citizens, especially during pandemics, and the citizens should demand for the single usage of disposable straws, he suggested.
The police, however, have denied the usage of the same straws for multiple people, and said that public health safety was an important priority for the police during such checks. Commissioner of Hyderabad police Anjani Kumar said the police personnel follow the safety protocols but if any violations occur, those indulging in such violations will face strict action.
Meanwhile, Hanmanth Rao, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Madhapur, said “we are replacing the straws after single use.”
