The pandemic has brought out the worst in us--News reports are full of incidents of people attacking frontline and healthcare workers, ostracizing patients and many more atrocities. But while we cannot really pinpoint why someone does what he does, we can try and find solutions to common issues and help protect ourselves and the other person in future.

Here are a few incidents that talk about the fear and stress of both perpetrator and the victim and quick suggestions for what they could have done to handle the stressful situation better. This would reduce the stress on both parties.

1.Attack on the doctor: When a neighbour in Surat attacked a doctor, he was worried and scared of getting infected by the doctor's movement to and fro the hospital. The attack undoubtedly stressed the doctor and he does not feel safe anymore. 

Solution: The neighbour could have had a word with the doctor, expressing his insecurities and taken a mutual decision to avoid contact and any kind of spread. They could decide on times for entry/exits for the doctor and strict sanitization processes could be followed. Furthermore, social distancing could have been put into place followed by dropping the groceries and other essentials to the doctor’s house to help them.

2. Death of a teenager: COVID is not the only reason behind deaths but assault, due to fear of COVID, is an addition to it. Andhra Pradesh reported how a girl's family was beaten up by a group of men as they asked the men to wear masks in public. The teenager girl died due to severe blows on her head while being treated in the hospital.
Here the men thought they were accused of being infected and hence grew aggressive when asked to wear a mask. 

Solution: The family could inform the police personnel in the area to ask the men to wear masks instead of telling them to do so by themselves. The men should have thought about the request as a gentle act of safety rather than an accusation.

3. Unplanned orders to evacuate rooms: A police officer in NOIDA was asked to evacuate his room as he was involved in the COVID checking routine. The landlord had received complaints from the co-residents. The policeman was asked to vacate the room on a very short notice. 

Solution: The landlord could have had a proper conversation about the safety measures the policemen was following and briefed the neighbours about the same. Sanitization orders could have been issued for the premises as well as social distancing protocols.

4.Nurses belongings thrown out of their rooms: In Mumbai, nurses reported, how they were not allowed to enter their society where they had rented rooms, one night when they returned from their shift. Even their belongings were packed and put out on the street for them to take away with them, with no consideration for where would they go.

Solution: It would have been better to let the nurses brief a society meeting where they told people how they followed all safety protocols and what they are going through. Sanitization and social distancing norms could have reassured many residents. 

There have been many more such cases where the airline staff, nurses, sanitization worker and more have been harassed for doing their jobs. The fear and worry amidst the perpetrators possibly forced them to behave violently but it is important to understand that everyone is scared in the current situation. It is necessary to choose the wisest form of action for encountering fears rather than letting the worse in them take aggressive actions hurting other people not just physically but mentally as well.