Five months into the Covid pandemic and we haven’t had a large-scale transmission of the virus in the villages. Over the last seven days I visited at least 25 villages in Magura. No reports of Covid death yet. Only handful of positive cases. Some 95 percent of the villagers I have met didn’t wear masks. Almost everyone knows the importance of social distancing. But nobody seems to care. Lack of new infections seem to have emboldened their views that Covid 19 is an urban disease, infecting mostly rich people.
Some people may give credit to better immunity level among the poor – – just as they said about garment workers – -and lack of Co-morbity among the villagers. But pharmacies – – my village alone has four drug stores – – told me that the villages are now home to thousands of retired policemen, military troops, border guards, teachers and low level government officials. Diabetes and high pressure are common among these retirees, pharmacy owners told me. Obesity is also rising, they said. So despite the abundance of people having Co-morbidities, Covid barely have struck terror in the villages.
What actually is at play here I don’t know. One plausible explanation could be that almost every villager is exposed to sun for hours every day. That’s why they don’t have any shortages of Vitamin D. In our parts – – the Sripur Upazila of Magura – – people love to eat lemon with rice during lunch and dinner. So they may also have better Vitamin C level. Whatever may be the reasons, Covid hasn’t proved to be a threat to public health here. And so far, reports from other rural areas tell similar stories. So whatever, some 150 days after the deadly virus started infecting people in Bangladesh, a clear verdict is emerging: Covid does not have liking for villagers.
