Editorial
Lockdown
Spreading misinformation is almost as harmful as spreading the virus.Ever since the coronavirus started spreading like wildfire across the globe, many health experts have been repeating one thing—maintain good hand and respiratory hygiene. Along with this follows another equally important piece of advice—maintaining physical distance. Meaning, staying home as much as one can and limiting exposure to others to ‘flatten the curve’—an attempt to slow down the spread of the virus. The Nepal government too, albeit late, paid heed and requested people to refrain from organising gatherings of more than 25 people.
We cannot afford to take any kind of risk. To think one is invincible and that the disease attacks a section of the population, but would leave out others, would be foolish. The government has imposed a lockdown for a week since March 24. This move was long-required, so the government must be lauded for it. The lockdown seemed largely successful on Day 1. But since this kind of discipline needs to be maintained for six more days, the government could do a few things.
First, the government must be more careful than ever while disseminating information. Information should not be concealed to contain fake news as much as possible. Spreading misinformation is as harmful as the spread of the virus.
Yet, while misinformation must be contained, relevant information such as, say, the number of deaths from the coronavirus (should there be any) must not be hidden from the public. The people look up to their leaders to tell them the truth. the government must uphold this trust. This information could be disseminated through state-owned media and other social media platforms.
Given Nepal's lack of resources and wherewithal, lockdown appears to be the only best way to control the spread, which we have seen from what China and some other countries did. China put Wuhan under complete lockdown while others did not. Italy, for example, failed to grasp this. As a result, Italy is now pandemic’s new epicentre. While the Chinese were criticised initially, now it seems to be the only possible way to help contain the spread of the virus.
What’s more, it is not easy being under a lockdown. Therefore, the government must ensure the people get daily essentials during a lockdown. There are many wage earners and most cannot afford the luxury of working from home. The government must immediately dole out economic relief packages to the vulnerable populations as other countries have.
Britain, for example, rolled out a $384.45 billion worth rescue package of loan guarantees. In India, the Kerala government announced a Rs.20,000 crore stimulus package in light of the economic slowdown because of Covid-19.
The government did its part by announcing a lockdown while the people also respected the government’s decision. This has proved to be symbiotic so far. The cooperation must follow in the days to come with the government keeping the interest of the less privileged population in mind.
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