Hyderabad
Drink and driving checks by Hyderabad police are becoming a cause of worry amid rising concerns of public negligence over Covid safety precautions. Weekend checks by the city police to nab drivers riding two-wheelers or driving their cars in a drunken state are witnessing some cops not replacing the disposable straws into which people are required to blow into to register their blood alcohol levels.
In these COVID times, health experts warn that the practice of not replacing disposable straws is the worst anyone can think of. Not just the danger of COVID spread, there is also the risk of transmission of various other bacterial and viral diseases with drink and driving tests.
Dr. Ranga Reddy Burri, president of the infection control academy of India, warns that the most likely to spread with this dangerous practice is the oral simplex disease on the borders of the lips. He also added that this practice of blowing into the breath analyzer could cause many infectious diseases like HIV, the Epstein Barr virus, ebola, the human papillomavirus, and the Zika virus, which spread through saliva.
Especially during pandemics, the right to health is one of the most important rights of the citizens, and they should demand the single usage of disposable straws.
However, the police have denied the usage of the same straws for multiple people and said that public health safety is always on their minds during such checks. Anjani Kumar, the commissioner of Hyderabad police, said the policemen follow the safety protocols, and strict action will be taken with those indulging in such violations.
Hanmanth Rao, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Madhapur, clarified that they are replacing the straws after a single-use.