Towards normalcy?

We are pretty much back to normal activity. Coronavirus closures are being done away with slowly and gradually almost all across the country. Parts of the industry are allowed to function. There is no ban on private vehicles plying on the roads. Domestic flights operations have resumed in a phased manner. Some government offices are also working. Worship places are holding near-normal gatherings, except for Friday prayers in some parts. Even bazaars and shopping centres that are all about crowds are now open in the entire country, for limited hours though. Whatever little that remains under a lockdown is getting unlocked bit by bit. For instance, the ban on public transport is all set to go from tomorrow in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with pressure piling on the remaining two provinces too. Shopping malls in Punjab will no more be a no-go area for the public from tomorrow. More and more is lined up to come alive in the coming days.

All this is happening while the virus is still in the growth phase and a flattening of the infection curve is nowhere in sight. That these resumptions and re-openings will cause the virus to mushroom thick and fast is a foregone conclusion – something that our medical community has time and again pointed out to. Well, our policymakers too are well aware of the possible horrors of scrambling towards the normal course. Why are they then resorting to such a big risk? It’s because saving the livelihoods of the people from a continued lockdown is as important as saving their lives from the virus. And with Dr Mike Ryan of the WHO warning that the coronavirus may never go away, it’s prudent on the part of Prime Minister Imran Khan to have advised the people to learn to live with the microbe.

We, as a nation, now need to adopt a new and safe lifestyle – one that is being advocated by our experts and relevant authorities. While the virus is all over the place, lying in the wait to infect more and more people, the onus to keep it at bay, indeed, rests with the public. There is no way the SOPs should be violated.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2020.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.