The coronavirus pandemic is a global health hazard which the international community is fighting pragmatically. Covid-19 is much deadlier than any other virus mankind has faced. Humankind has long been fighting different types of viruses in the past, and has been successful to defeat them. Now they are in a bid to fight and win the battle against the devastating corona by maintaining health guidelines and increasing the resilience.
We should follow the development of the global resistance process, even though a large number of people in Europe and America do not care a damn for the virus as they are habituated to fighting the odds. Frequently they rush to the sea beaches, and do not care about using masks except in malls and other public places. They are visiting beaches and parks without masks, though there are no such crowds as we have on the roads and ferry terminals, kitchen markets and public places in Bangladesh.
The people of Bangladesh also have a tendency to ignore health guidelines. The problem is a high population density here in Bangladesh. On the contrary, there is smaller population and vast areas of land, lakes and green fields in Europe and America. They have world class healthcare, and on the contrary, we have a mushroom growth of medical clinics and hospitals, but with poorer quality of treatment facilities.
The most inspiring aspect is how quickly Oxford AstraZeneca, American Pfizer, Russian Sputnik and Chinese Sinopfarma have successfully developed vaccines against the deadly disease. Mankind should rest assured that the global leaders and organizations are not sitting idle, they have created a potential barricade to the virus. It goes without saying that Covid 19 is much more deadly than other viruses faced by the world community in the past. But we should not die many times before our death. We have to fight it back by dint of our courage, consciousness and strict maintenance of health guidelines.
Clamoring about lockdown, we should not let our economy get doomed. Everything should be open and active as usual. In my recent trip to the USA, I observed that people do not care about the virus although a large number of people have died there. They are working; they have everything open. The sea beaches, malls, offices, restaurants, and other tourist’s spots are open. Their main objective is to bring business back and restore normal life. They believe that if business is stalled, the economy will be ruined. And life cannot get normal and vibrant with a shattered economy. So, business and maintaining health guidelines are going on simultaneously. Hotels, motels and other resorts are open. Government has taken measures to create jobs. Trillion dollars in stimulus packages are underway.
Similarly, the government of Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has offered quite a number of stimulus packages, and the people have started getting positive results by this time out of the stimuli packages.
The international community is also trying to bring back the economy, so that life and livelihood can get back to regular order.
Similarly, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is trying to save lives, and at the same time, wants to revive the economy by facilitating export-oriented industries including the garments factories and ensuring safe health conditions.
The way she acted and had the preventive measures in place when the corona virus started in March 2020 is well witnessed and well appreciated by the world community.
One thing we should always keep in mind is that the government alone cannot face the challenges of such a devastating pandemic. The whole nation should get united on the single point that we have to win this war against the deadly coronavirus. The government is doing its part, but we ourselves will have to do whatever necessary on our part for our safety. In no circumstances, we can invite the wrath of the virus. For our life and wellbeing, we must follow the rules, regulations and directives of the Health Department and the World Health Organization.
The Covid-19 cases continue to spike in Bangladesh, and it seems that such nationwide closure of everything including economic activities is not the only solution to dealing with the rising infections.
Rather, the long lockdowns will destroy livelihoods and disrupt the economic progress. The government has already ensured vaccines for all the adult citizens, and also emphasized the campaigns for planned Covid-19 precautions such as wearing masks while going out, and washing hands frequently.
The government is enforcing a lockdown till August 5. There are plans to extend the lockdown. The rate of those testing positive is still high. Garment factories reopened on short notice on August 1. People have been seen scrambling at different points to come to Dhaka to join their workplaces. However, some unrealistic decisions of the administration have been found that created untold sufferings for the Dhaka-bound people, and the garment workers in particular. Some people in the administration, believed to be entrusted with dealing with the situation, are of questionable competence. They have no idea about the condition of the garment workers who are afraid of losing their jobs. When it was said that the garments would open more than a couple of days before the scheduled date, the mental state of the garment workers at the time, is not easy to fathom. They dashed for any mode of transport to Dhaka instantly fearing job loss. And thus, the sufferings compounded. It is learnt that a transport ticket of Taka three hundred was sold for as high as Taka fifteen hundred. The sufferings were unprecedented, and happened due to the unrealistic decision of the people in the administration. The policy planners of the government should take note of the issue so that it does not repeat in future.
As Bangalis, we have a glorious past. We fought, despite the daunting odds, against our worst enemy, the Pakistani occupation army that had killed millions of our people. We have so many things to be proud of. We will fight the corona pandemic to the finish and defeat it.