Lockdown?

It is indeed laudable that the government of Pakistan started its robust vaccination campaign in an attempt to control the spread of different variants of Covid-19. It should also be an honour for the government to consider that all factions of society are gradually following SOPs. The whole effort that we, as a nation, have put in, and are putting in, to get ourselves vaccinated was to avoid the disruption being caused by the biological warfare-like situation we are in. Hence, after having successfully vaccinated around 23 million (including partially vaccinated people), we should have the confidence to modify our outlook on Covid-19. Measures such as lockdowns worked when countries were helpless to an unimaginable extent. Now that the vaccine programme has been introduced and is being encouraged across the country, it would be more appropriate if we shifted from ‘lockdowns’ to ‘systemic adjustments’ implying the need to realign ourselves while ensuring that business operations remain unaffected.

The nation seems to be utterly confused because of mixed messages. On the one hand, vaccination drives are a success. On the other, the virus is still wreaking havoc across the country. The authorities are convincing people to get vaccinated to return to normalcy, but lockdowns are still here. It is time to talk about ‘social and business adjustments’ with greater micro-management to enforce Covid-19-related safety SOPs and stop considering lockdowns as a viable option. It may be easier said than done, however, it seems that the time to let go off the hard and harsh measures that worked during the early stage of the pandemic is here.

Ayesha Emad

Karachi