`I didn`t believe coronavirus would enter my home`.

ISLAMABAD -- As the coronavirus continues to spread and the number of Covid-19 cases rises, people appear to have started wearing masks and taking otherprecautions,leadingtohopes that the pace of the spread may slow down in the near future.

When the outbreak began in March and April, many people saw conspiracies behind the coronavirus. With time, more and more people have accepted thatthe coronavirusisareality and one they have to take precautions to avoid.

Mohammad Naeem, who lives in E-11, told Dawn that he was initially confused when it came to Covid-19 and did not believe the disease would enter his home.

`My thinking changed when a close friend of mine contracted the disease along with his wife. The couple stayed in a house in F-11 and recovered,` he said, adding: `At the start of this month, I lost my sense of smell and became aware that I had contracted the disease. I discussed it with a doctor and got myself tested and was declared positive.Ministry of National Health Services staffer Sajid Hussain Shah, who lives in Chak Shahzad, told Dawn that he had been aware of the disease because of his work.

`Although I was taking precautions, most people were not ready to accept the disease [existed]. Once, on my way to worl(, I saw someone who was outside my house mending a charpai while wearing a mask. I asked my wife to give him hand sanitiser after he completed his work. In the evening, my wife told me that person refused to accept the hand sanitiser because he did not believe in Covid-19. My wife aske d him why he was wearing a mask, and he said it was to avoid exposure to the sun,` he said.

`I isolated myself as soon as I developed symptoms,` Mr Shah added. `I decided to get myself tested and was declared positive. Then all my family members were tested, but they were all negative. I kept myself isolated and used disposable utensils. The most difficult thing was to pass the time, but with books, television and phones, it was not that...