The fight against Covid-19 is a full-on war.
WAH CANTT: The fight against Covid-19 is a full-on war. China seems to have won the first battle. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan have also attained visible success in controlling the outbreak owing to their experiences in dealing with the SARS epidemic. Other countries have not been strong enough as some governments have convinced themselves that they can merely slow down the spread of the virus instead of taking drastic steps needed to stop it completely.
It seems like the end of world as we know it. The deadly virus has brought humanity to its knees. In the world’s least developed countries, 900 million people are at risk of getting infected and millions of people have already lost their jobs. These countries lack the economic resources and the medical facilities while all of their sectors have been badly hit financially. The global community must help these countries by providing personal protective equipment and technology for the frontline workers and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines.
At a national level, lockdowns are causing severe disruptions and governments need to be extra cautious. Developing countries do not have the funds and resources to deal with thousands of patients rushing towards hospitals. The labour class is already under a severe cash crisis. It is up to the central bank to come up with an adequate bailout system to rescue the citizens. Unity and understanding will be needed in order to control the fallout of this pandemic.
Maryam Nabeel
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2020.
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