Smart way to relax lockdown

Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar was right when he observed that many thousands of people had died so far in Europe and the US yet they were 'relaxing their lockdowns to run their economies', implying that the same should be done in Pakistan despite all the risks, but he missed a few rather important points. While for some unexplained reasons, the coronavirus has hit parts of the western hemisphere far more severely than other areas, and they will not survive much longer on stimulus packages alone, it's not like they are jumping head first into reopening their economies without doing all the necessary homework. Most countries taking the lead in easing the lockdown have some of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world. That means that despite all the pressure they are under right now, they still have the capacity to take care of more patients if the lockdown relaxation doesn't exactly work out as hoped. And, just as importantly, people there, are taking official directions of following safety procedures very seriously indeed. People take wearing masks and gloves when they go out as their sacred duty, which is why governments are assured that even if the gamble of resuming economic activity fails, it will not be because of carelessness on the part of the public or the government.

Things in Pakistan, regrettably, are still quite different. Scenes of people moving about in public, without practicing social distancing or following safety protocols at all, hardly inspire much confidence. It seems for much of the public the coronavirus is just something that they see and hear about in the evening news. Talk of opening up the economy in such circumstances, which will require a lot of people to be out and about and in close proximity, would require strict enforcement of safety protocols by the State. The government clearly needs to do more to make people realise that by exposing themselves to the virus they are not just putting their own lives in danger, but also those of their families, friends, and just about everybody else they come in contact with. Wearing masks and gloves in public, therefore, must be made absolutely necessary if moving beyond the lockdown is to be even considered seriously. Otherwise, the most plausible outcome is the virus spreading very quickly and leading to another, perhaps even longer, shutdown. Take the example of public transport, which most workers will rely on to get to work once the government lifts the lockdown. If people are not protected, and refuse to take such precautions as wearing masks and gloves, the transportation alone is likely to spread the infection fast enough for the authorities to have to put the brakes on the whole thing.

Perhaps the one thing the government can do to nudge things along in the right direction is set the right kind of examples. It would have helped if the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues are seen wearing masks while attending to their official duties outside their residence and offices. Everybody all over the world understands just why it is so important to get economies going again. The signal to reopen is precisely what made international markets rally last week despite horrible growth and employment figures in the world's largest economies - the US, the EU, China, Japan, etc. The hope that things will improve once employment and incomes are restored seems to be driving sentiment lately. But this exercise will need the greatest caution. It will, quite simply, not be successful if people blatantly refuse to take safety seriously and doctors have to stage hunger strikes to demand basic protective equipment. Countries like Pakistan do not have nearly the kind of resources that other countries gambling with opening up do. So we will have to be that much smarter about getting back on our feet. Wearing masks and gloves whenever stepping out of one's abode is something that must be made mandatory for all people, including government officials as that is the only right way of relaxing the lockdown. Otherwise, it will be a highly risky exercise with extremely serious portents that are too grim to be speculated.