The men and women responsible for delivering essential goods to our doorsteps are undoubtedly the unsung heroes in this crisis, and deserve our respect and gratitude.
In such times of crisis, with most of the city in self-isolation, e-commerce services which deliver essentials directly to people’s homes are an undeniable blessing, one which not only disincentivizes people from going outside, but also keeps certain facets of the economy ticking.
This is exactly why, despite the lockdown, internet-based companies were included as part of emergency services, which means that the shutdown would not apply to them.
Unfortunately, it seems that many law enforcement personnel across the city remained ignorant of the exception made due to a delay in informing them, and have seen it fit to prevent them from doing their jobs, refusing to accept the letter that the delivery people had been carrying, granting them the right to move freely around.
But what is truly shameful is that some of these law enforcement personnel went on to then beat up the delivery person in question, refusing to accept their explanations and ignoring the letter.
The lockdown has pushed a significant portion of the population towards online shopping, and rightfully so, because it allows them order their groceries, medicines, and other necessary items without ever leaving the comfort and safety of their homes.
In fact, these men and women, like many other people who have been given the responsibility of carrying out these emergency services, are putting their lives at risk every day so that the people of this city lack for little in these troubling times.
While the initial question is one of inefficiency, whereby an entire institution, ie the police force, remained completely unaware of important changes made in governmental policy, what is truly unacceptable is that that they would think it is perfectly acceptable to beat up innocent people, humiliating them in the process, and making them pay for risking their lives in our service.
This was an unacceptable abuse of power from all concerned and we should ashamed that we allowed such a thing to happen.
We hope that the victims are compensated and that the ones responsible for this violence are reprimanded for their actions.
