The lockdown debate

Lockdown or no lockdown - that has been the debate across the country for several days now. The prime minister says that while Sindh has opted for a lockdown, the federal government is following a ‘different strategy’ and is closely monitoring the situation. The number of confirmed corona cases in Pakistan is increasing exponentially. The strategy adopted by China to fight the coronavirus battle has proved to be highly effective as all relevant numbers in China have already started declining, whereas, countries that reacted late such as Italy, where the death toll has already surpassed that of China, are struggling to contain the pandemic employing all available resources including military.

As a highly concerned citizen, I request the federal leadership that instead of waiting for a spike in the number of deaths, please implement a proper lockdown across the country under the full and effective control and management of the armed forces. The PM’s fear that more people will die in lockdown than by coronavirus cannot be justified. Allowing returning pilgrims to travel to their home towns was a big mistake on part of the federal government. Such mistakes should not be repeated. It goes without saying that our religious leadership has a great responsibility to fully support the war against the coronavirus.

Dr Mohammad Saleem

Karachi