There is no doubt that, so far, the current administration’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis has been nothing short of exceptional.
Whereas nations far more prosperous than ours have all but succumbed to the global pandemic in the last two years -- with their people and their economies being indelibly impacted -- Bangladesh has been weathering this storm exceptionally well, thanks to timely policies from our government and the cooperation of our people in dealing with the virus.
Not to mention the vigorous rate at which we have been vaccinating our population.
However, as forward-thinking as our Covid policies have been, the Health Ministry’s recent discussions of a more heavy-handed approach towards getting people to vaccinate themselves begets some amount of scrutiny, as it is suggested that restaurants which serve customers who cannot produce a vaccine card would be fined.
Clearly Bangladeshis are not averse to receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, pending steady supply, so why are punitive actions that affect both the citizenry and businesses even necessary?
It makes far more sense for such policies to be left to the discretion of the business owners instead of being enforced by the state. And clearly, as a people, we have shown consistently that we are willing to cooperate.
We firmly believe that measures that directly impact our economy, such as lockdowns, do more harm than good when dealing with the pandemic. Which is why it is all the more important for the government to try and avoid being overzealous with businesses that rely primarily on customer footfall.
Our momentum in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis has been exceptional primarily due to its balance, let us try and maintain that.
