Coronavirus pandemic has changed the dynamics of the entire world. Self-isolation, a concept most of us are not familiar with, will slowly but surely become necessary in the coming days. As Canadian Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau said, “For a little while, this will be our new normal.”
But while Trudeau and very few other world leaders, including New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, declare war on the pandemic, others, among whom is PM Imran Khan, still don’t appear to be understanding the gravity of the situation at hand.
Four coronavirus patients have died in Pakistan — three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and one in Sindh. The number of cases is rapidly increasing (645 in less than a month), and if a nationwide lockdown isn’t put in place, it will continue to rise exponentially.
After sticking to his mantra of ‘ghabrana nahi hai [don’t panic]’ for the past few days, the premier does no longer seem very sure if the masses should panic or not.
“Pakistan cannot afford to impose a total lockdown. 25% of the people in the country live below the poverty line,” PM Imran said in his second address to the nation in three days on Sunday. “What will happen to them if I go ahead with the lockdown?”
The premier added that if the economic situation of the country had been like that of Italy and China, he would have thought about imposing a lockdown. “Let me tell you what a lockdown is. A lockdown means putting a curfew and restricting people to their homes with the military on the streets,” he said.
The situation escalated in Italy and China, Khan Sahib, evidently because the authorities didn’t impose a lockdown until it was too late.
Your address to the nation and recent interaction with journalists were not exactly what we had hoped for. We understand you are worried about the poor, the daily wagers, the economy and many other things.
But…
After shutting down as much as the provincial governments already have, after the closure of educational institutions and the bearish trend in PSX amid global sell-out on COVID-19 fears, what further closures would a total lockdown entail?
All international air operations are already closed. Most borders are closed. Wedding halls, shopping malls, restaurants are already shut. Massive unemployment has already been created. Moving towards total lockdown at this stage will presumably have a very little marginal impact.
Is it paralysis of analysis which appears to be the hallmark of decision-making behind closed doors in Islamabad for quite some time now?
In case of a total lockdown, what matters the most is taking care of the neglected segments of society – that they keep on receiving life support cash allowances or food aid. For starters, 50% of the budget of both civil and defence annual development programmes should be placed in a welfare account for such activities.
Welfare… isn’t that what you promised, Khan Sahib?
We know that a lockdown or delaying a lockdown is akin to be caught between a rock and a hard place. We understand that this is an immensely difficult and unforeseen situation but the government must act fast.
Let’s learn from the mistakes made by countries that are the worst-hit by the new coronavirus, and try not to repeat them.
Lockdown does not mean that coronavirus cases will end, but it will definitely flatten the curve. This is what Pakistan needs to do. Our healthcare facilities are not equipped to deal with the impending crisis.
