In a welcome decision, the governments in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have lifted the lockdown restrictions that remained in place in different forms in different parts of the country for nearly six months due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was a time of great agony for the whole nation as hundreds of people were falling sick with the virus daily at the peak of the pandemic; people were not allowed to move out of their homes freely; streets and roads went void of the usual hustle and bustle; and educational institutions and businesses remained closed. In fact, life in the country, as in other parts of the world, came to a near halt. With many businesses shut due to the pandemic, a lot of people lost their jobs.
Now that the situation is pretty much under control, the governments have lifted the restrictions on movement of people and business. There is now a hope that the businesses will soon regain momentum, and people will get re-employed and government revenues will start climbing with time.
However, as the people resume their routine activities, they must keep in mind that the threat of the virus has reduced, but it has not gone away completely, and there are apprehensions of a second wave of the virus. Therefore, people must follow the prescribed SOPs so as to avoid the virus from re-emerging. The authorities must also make sure that the SOPs are adhered to by the people.
Everybody in the country is duty-bound to keep himself and others safe from the virus and help the government win the fight against the deadly contagion. Both the government and the people will have to realise their responsibilities if they want life in the country to get back to normal.
Abdul Wadood
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, August 12th, 2020.
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