Social distancing must be ensured

The government first announced a general holiday from 26 March to 4 April that later has been extended to 11 April to curb the infection of coronavirus in the country. This situation can be regarded as an unofficial and relaxed lockdown. But what is important at this moment is whether we could really isolate the already infected and suspected patients properly.

Unfortunately, the beginning of the whole process was chaotic. Shortly after the announcement of the general holiday, numerous people rushed to their hometown and villages from the capital. This posed a risk of spreading the disease across the country.

At the beginning, people responded to the government's call for homestay, but now they are starting to come out again. Social distancing is waning and what exactly the term ‘lockdown’ implies has not been implemented in Bangladesh.

The authorities might not impose a harsh shutdown thinking of the poor and to keep the economy running. But the question is how much will this technique work? Should the general leave be extended? Which one is more effective? A long relaxed lockdown or a strict one?

We can consider the experience of different countries of the world in this regard. Many countries in the West have adopted a strict lockdown policy. Our neighbouring country India announced a three-week lockdown.

On the other hand, South Korean expatriates who returned from various countries to their home underwent corona tests and isolated themselves. Strict lockdown policies have helped to control the level of infection in several countries. Again, South Korea has shown remarkable success in controlling the transmission of the virus, following a policy of extensive testing to avoid lockdown.

We did not take up any of the two methods properly. We neither went for total lockdown, nor undertook the comprehensive test policy. In the beginning, the easiest way was to ensure isolation or quarantine of every citizen coming from abroad. They could have gone home after two weeks of quarantine in case of no infection. In that case the risk of spreading of the virus would have been greatly reduced.

If it is difficult for us to detect and isolate the infected patients through extensive testing, the alternative is to ensure social isolation through rigorous lockdown. It is important for us to determine how to tackle the interruption in economic activity, as well as to determine the strategy to overcome it.

If the authorities extend the time in the name of general holiday instead of calling it shutdown, it can result in greater harm to us. We cannot afford to be lenient about the crisis. Otherwise infection can spread to levels that will be difficult for us to fight.

We hope that the government will make the most effective decision for the country by taking into consideration the overall situation and having discussions with experts and considering the experiences of different countries around the world. Delay in adopting the right strategy will only increase the casualties.