Making the lockdown work

Finally, after much confusion, lockdown began in the country primarily because the Sindh government took the lead and the Punjab government saw no better course of action, really, despite all the concerns raised by the centre. The federal government's initial concern about daily wagers was understandable, since they make up a sizeable chunk of the population, and authorities must weigh the chances of the marginalised sections of society facing hunger and starvation before implementing something as extreme as a complete shutdown. Yet, as examples from Italy and Iran show so clearly, everybody does understand by now what is most likely to happen if initial warnings against public interaction are not taken seriously. Eventually, extreme isolation becomes inevitable; which is why the vulnerable are better protected by rescue and relief packages in such circumstances than putting everybody at risk. Besides, far too many people just ignored all appeals and continued mingling as usual making the lockdown that much more appropriate. Strange, then, that the centre still disagrees with provincial governments on the matter and continues to believe that people should just be "convinced" to stay indoors.
Anyhow, now that the lockdown is in force the main challenge is making it effective and at the same time ensuring timely delivery of food supplies, medicines, and other necessities of life and work. Understandably, governments across the world are grappling with just such issues. And while the public quite rightly expects authorities to respond to the most immediate and compelling matters, leaders are forced to multi-task and take care of some of the deeper, and somewhat indirect, issues as well. Like, in this particular case, making sure the economy remains resilient enough to finance the lockdown. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has appealed that the government to think about people not profits or money at this time, which is fair enough, but the economy just cannot be ignored. Supporting the economy is crucial for protecting the people, especially in times like the present, because if supply chains are broken and availability of essential items is disturbed, it will simply not be possible to maintain the lockdown.
It is also abundantly clear that no government, not just Pakistan's, can control a crisis of this magnitude all on its own. It will have to be aided by civil society. That is why it is gratifying to note that volunteer groups in Pakistan have indeed sprung into action as is evident from news reports of people collecting money and packaging food - one-month rations for families of five, etc - for the hardest hit groups. The more the people help the government in this fight, while maintaining safety protocols of course, the sooner it will be won. Yet for all the support civil society can offer, it is for the government to provide leadership and set the tone and direction of this effort; which is why it is essential for all principal players to be on the same page. Hopefully, now that everybody seems to have realised the gravity of the situation, things will start moving in the right direction with speed; because time is going to be our next big issue.
Let's not forget that ours was a small, strained economy even before this pandemic. Now it must also provide relief and stimulus packages and sustain tax cuts. Therefore we will have to get a handle on this emergency very quickly, and a number of things will be very important. One: respecting the lockdown and reducing public movement to the barest minimum. Public relief work, especially, must be very carefully coordinated with authorities to guarantee strict safety standards. Two: as the world struggles with developing a vaccine for the coronavirus, the elderly, infants and people with underlying serious diseases are the most vulnerable. They are also the most likely to require serious medical treatment if they are afflicted. So they must be completely shielded and isolated to flatten the curve, in terms of number of cases over time, and make sure the peak is reached in the maximum amount of time. That way the people in need of hospitalisation can be kept within the kind of numbers that can limit the damage since the country's health facilities are woefully inadequate. And three: since there's precious little money in the kitty, this will be an operation with a tight time limit. The government must ensure strict compliance at all levels and it must be understood that anybody deviating from the script would be responsible for the troubles and deaths of others. Only if all players work together can the lockdown be really made to work.