Due to the rapid rise in the number of Covid cases and subsequent deaths in the country, the government’s decision to enforce a hard lockdown nationwide is commendable and must be enforced fully in order for us to battle the spread of the coronavirus.
A lockdown after all is only as good as its enforcement, and if we continue to show laxness as we have shown before in the past, then all of this will have been for nothing.
However, strict enforcement does not necessarily mean that it should be done without compassion or understanding of people’s needs.
Exceptions should of course be made for emergencies. It is good that emergency workers and delivery personnel are exempt from the lockdown -- kudos to them for the valuable services they provide in this difficult time.
The government’s initiative to create a website that issues movement passes for people in exceptional cases is a good one, but there is little point if the website itself is malfunctioning frequently, and people are unable to get these passes in the first place.
In addition, there have been accounts of doctors facing harassment on the road on the way to work -- we must ensure things like that do not happen.
At the end of the day, the lockdown is there for the protection of our own health and to contain the spread of a deadly virus. But those who are commuting for legitimate reasons, such as getting to a hospital for treatment, should be able to do so, and in this regard, from our law enforcement officers we ask for a compassionate approach. This lockdown is, after all, about putting the people first.
