Nationwide lock-down

The Himalayan Times

26 March 2020

Nationwide lockdown

The decision of the government to impose a nationwide lockdown for a week starting from today March 24,  is a welcome step, albeit still a bit late, in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19 “Week-long nationwide lockdown from today” (THT, March 24, Page 1). Had it been decided a bit earlier to block northern and southern border points and stop all the international flights, the chances of this deadly virus entering Nepal would have been much lesser. It looks as if the government would not have dared to act on its own to seal the border points if the World Health Organization (WHO) had not advised it to do so “Borders sealed” (THT, March 24, Page 4).

Two imported COVID-19 cases-one from China’s Wuhan city and the latest one coming from France - have forced the government to take this bold decision. Although, no other cases have so far been detected in the country, it cannot be easily ruled out that there will be no more infected cases inside the country considering the entrance of this 19 year old girl from France who flew in with 205 other passengers whose identities are still not known to the government “Nepal confirms second COVID-19 case” (THT, March 24, Page 1). Is it possible that some of them who might have infected with COVID-19 are roaming around infecting people in their surroundings? They should be traced out as soon as possible and proper investigation made to see if they are infected.

Even the governments of the developed countries are struggling to save their citizens from this pandemic. Despite their well-developed strategic efforts, utilising their trained health personnel and abundant resources, thousands of their people have lost their lives. Is our government fully prepared to handle the worst situation should there be an outbreak of COVID-19? I hope it is and hope it will also soon bring out an economic package that focuses on the common people, daily wages workers, small entrepreneurs and other economically affected groups who are directly or indirectly affected by this pandemic disease.  

Rai Biren Bangdel

Maharajgunj