Preventive measures should never go too far: China Daily editorial

Staying at home, no socializing, wearing a face mask if going anywhere have proved to be the most effective ways to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. It is therefore indeed necessary for communities to ensure residents adhere to these practices.

For individuals, they must be aware that they have to sacrifice a lot in order to make sure as few people as possible get infected so that the spread of the virus will finally be brought under total control.

However, what security guards or volunteers are doing to seal residential areas or neighborhoods should never go too far. They need to bear in mind the principle that what they are doing is meant to prevent the spread of the virus, not prohibit people's freedom, or harm their legitimate rights.

It was reported that a family of three were playing mahjong in a city of Hubei province, which has been hit the hardest by the virus, when a group of security guards broke in at the report of neighbors and smashed the mahjong table. The son of the family was slapped across his face when he questioned what the security guards did.

In another instance, a teacher jogging without wearing a face mask in an empty residential area was stopped and forced to be quarantined for 14 days. The teacher's argument that it is not necessary to wear a face mask in an empty open field according to experts fell on deaf ears.

What the security guards did in both these instances, and others, has seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights of other people.

Such abuses of power by some security guards to deal with this emergency of the current coronavirus outbreak will only do a disservice to the campaign against the virus. Not the least because such overreactions are directed not at preventing the spread of the virus but directly restricting the freedom of individuals.

It is important for security guards to be instructed that they need to show enough respect to other people when doing their job. They must toe the line between what should and what should not be done and strive to reduce to the minimum the sacrifices that people are making to fight against the novel coronavirus.

Details make the difference. The more attention community leaders pay to the details in preventive efforts, the better the results they will achieve. This should be what local leaders learn from this public campaign.

The shortfalls and deficiencies this public campaign has exposed should serve as lessons to consolidate the governing capability of this country.