No room for complacence in all-out restrictions

Given the catastrophic corona situation, the government seems to have finally realised that the spread of the virus cannot be curbed with a lax lockdown or scattered restrictions. In the recent spate of restrictions which started on 5 April, public transport and shopping malls were closed, but later opened in the face protest of various quarters. As a result the restrictions lost effectiveness and eventually the corona cases and deaths leapt alarmingly.

Following this, the decision of imposing all-out restrictions from 14 to 21 April was inevitable. The authorities have hinted at extending this for a couple of weeks more. According to the cabinet division’s notification, all government, semi-government, autonomous and private offices and financial institutions would remain closed and the employees of such organisations would stay near their work areas, while all types of public transport would be closed including trains as well as domestic and international flights. But factories will continue running following health rules. Kitchen markets will remain open for a particular period. The government has also instructed people not to go out unless there is an emergency.

It has become a Catch-22 situation. Just as some drastic measures are needed to stop the spread of the disease, people’s livelihood is also severely affected. The country had seen a long lockdown before and that affected a large section of the population. The goal of the restrictions is to reduce the number of infections by keeping people indoors as much as possible, preventing unnecessary gatherings, and ensuring social distance. Again, since there is no alternative to running essential services to keep public life running, the biggest challenge in maintaining these services is to maintain social distance and ensure the necessary hygiene.

Last year, there was a chaotic situation over whether the garment industry would be open or not during the general holidays. The garment industry has been kept out of the lockdown this year from the very beginning. As a result, the responsibility of ensuring the transport for the workers following hygiene rules will fall entirely on the concerned establishments. The government notification has asked them to provide the workers with transport, but very few factories have their own transport. There needs to be specific guidelines on what will happen in these cases.

The pandemic is a national disaster. It is not possible for the government or the administration alone to deal with this disaster. Political parties, organisations, voluntary organisations, people's representatives — everyone must put forward joint efforts.

Another important issue is to ensure that financial assistance reaches the homes of the marginalised and working class people whose livelihoods are cut off due to the lockdown. In this regard, the help of reliable non-government development agencies can be sought besides the local administration and people's representatives. Poor people cannot be pushed into more uncertainty in the name of saving lives.

The government is going to take steps, but the effectiveness will depend on the collective awareness of the citizens. We expect responsible behaviour from all citizens in this catastrophic situation of the country.