Worst time to ease lockdown

We fail to understand the wisdom behind the government's decision to ease lockdown at a time when the numbers of daily new coronavirus cases and deaths are around all-time highs. Health officials have warned that the transmission of the disease could increase as the government has withdrawn the strict lockdown for a week starting yesterday. If that is how government health officials truly feel, then why has the government lifted the strict lockdown risking the lives of people and their well-being?

Only on July 12, this newspaper reported that the country saw the highest number of daily new cases—13,768. The number of people who died that day stood at 220. The number of daily deaths has been hovering around the 200-mark for quite some time and the number of new cases has also been hovering over 10,000 per day.

On July 15, this daily published another report on how hospital occupancy had shot up within a span of only one month, with ICU occupancy doubling simultaneously. Major hospitals have already become overburdened with around 81.65 percent out of 1,471 ICU beds, designated for treating the disease countrywide, getting occupied. That means our hospitals have very little leeway at the moment. Should the number of cases shoot up again following the easing of restrictions, what will happen to our overworked hospitals? Have the authorities even considered these possibilities before making this decision?

With the easing of lockdown, public transport services will resume and shopping malls will reopen, and since this will happen before Eid, there is no doubt that this will lead to large gatherings of people. Although the government has asked people to stick to the health guidelines, this is something we have been struggling to do since the pandemic began. Unless these guidelines are enforced, it is difficult to see people following them consistently and of their own accord.

We call on the government to ensure that the health guidelines are adhered to on all public transports and shopping malls. As things stand, it might be necessary for the country's health capacities to be expanded on an urgent basis. Moreover, it is our view that the lifting of the strict lockdown at a time like this is most inappropriate and could result in more loss of life and more extended lockdowns later down the road.