Easing lockdown restrictions

The coronavirus crisis situation is far from under control. The number of cases have surged in recent days and deaths have increased while we have yet to reach the peak. Despite the adverse circumstances, the federal government has decided to ease lockdown restrictions.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has chaired a cabinet meeting which decided to relax lockdown restrictions from May 9. The final decision will be made by the National Coordination Committee (NCC) which will be attended by all four chief ministers to deliberate on the next strategy.

The Sindh government will certainly oppose an early lifting of lockdown and has vowed to maintain safety precautions despite the criticism by the federal government. Both have been at loggerheads over the issue ever since the lockdown was imposed. The Sindh government said the lockdown will only be eased on the advice of health experts and has called the federal government for being irresponsible and backing out from its own commitments.

Federal minister Asad Umar has warned that one million small businesses risk being permanently closed if trading activities are not restarted. A further 18 million risk being unemployed while exports have plunged and oil stocks remain full to the brim. Economic activities have not been restored in Karachi and traders are fuming over the loss of business during the month of Ramzan.

The government is clamouring to find a middle ground that does not risk the spread of COVID-19 and also ensures that economic activities resume. Foreign remittances were our source of earning but these could fall sharply as my expatriates have jobs and are returning back. We have suffered from terrorism to maintain peace and revive our economy and now we face another dire situation.

The prime minister was probably right in stating that more people could die from hunger and poverty than from the disease itself. He has remained steadfast in opposing a complete lockdown knowing well the poor could lose their livelihoods and now his fears are coming true.

The government has to face the tough decision of finding a way to relax lockdown restrictions to revive economic activities without risking the spread of the virus. As the world gradually starts to reopen, we should restart our economy while ensuring all safety precautions are enforced. The lockdown has been enforced for over a month now and we need to emerge from the crisis.