With Bangladesh seeing its first Covid-19-related death, and the global death toll around 8,000, it is clear that troubled times are here and that they will be with us for quite some time to come.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been causing anxiety all around the world, and Bangladesh is no different. But anxiety is one thing, panic and irresponsibility is another. We cannot afford to panic, and we cannot afford to act irresponsibly.
We have already seen in recent days that people are flouting government directives that have been issued for the common safety and public good, and the bottom line is that we are not seeing enough citizen responsibility on the matter.
It is not just the government that needs to step up its game, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us.
This is a collective crisis and the only way out is to think and act collectively, for the common good not individually, in our own narrow self-interest or what we perceive to be our own self-interest.
One example is the need to take quarantining and social distancing seriously.
While educational institutions have been instructed to close, many students are using this as an opportunity to go on vacation, or spend time out and about, which clearly defeats the purpose of the closures and puts the whole population of the country at risk.
Stay home and stay safe -- that needs to be our watchword.
More to the point, the responsibility to do so lies with the citizens of this country; because at the end of the day, the authorities can only do so much.
Therefore, it is time to change our mind-set, and it is time to change our overall behaviour.
Unless we learn to act responsibly, and exercise precaution, we will have an overwhelming and unmanageable disaster on our hands within a matter of weeks.
Let us all, then, come together, and acknowledge that thinking only of ourselves will not do us any good. Hoarding supplies, for example, is a response caused by panic, but no good will come of it, even, ironically for the hoarders. After all, if the stores run out of hand sanitizers and soap and there are not enough left for everyone, the virus will only spread more rapidly.
Taking care only of ourselves will not save us.
It is time to change our ways, and it is time to act responsibly, for the common good.
