As Nepalis have welcomed the New Year 2077 B.S., the celebratory mood and joy is conspicuously missing. Like many other nations, Nepal is passing through the harrowing times owing to the COVID-19 that has killed over a hundred of thousand people across the globe, turning upside down the world’s economy and supply system. We have been under lockdown for the last three weeks. The mass mobility has been drastically cut in order to contain the virus’s spread and ultimately get rid of it. Over a dozen of Nepalis have been infected with the virus while scores of them living abroad have succumbed to it. The coronavirus has forced us to live in weird way that is the physical- and social distancing. When the movements of people and goods are brought to a standstill, it is natural that the aura of festivity fades and the people are impelled to ponder over the unimagined reality of their existence that is threatened by the pandemic of apocalyptic proportions. The virus has prevented us from going closer to friends and familiar faces, a situation that effectively negates the idea of marking the festivals amidst the merrymaking gatherings.

However, the New Year is not only about getting involved in joyous and jolly bustle. It is our tradition to make new resolutions on the occasion to put our individual and social life on better, brighter and successful path. We want to leave the nasty past behind and brace for rosy future ahead. But this requires sacrifice, patience and unwavering commitment. Today the nation has demanded this sort of resolution and fortitude from the citizens to fight the pandemic that has disrupted our normal life, and usual pace of development, progress and prosperity of the country. In his New Year message, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has articulated the grim situation of the nation and called upon the fellow citizens to demonstrate unity and play positive role to defeat the contagion. He said: “The government is leading a war against the coronavirus. I wish that those infected by it will overcome it soon.”

The PM has lamented that the country would have been in better position in pushing ahead its economic growth and agenda had the virus not caught it off guard. The government under his leadership is now in the middle of its five-year term and poised to sustain gains made over the last two years. The contagion has forced to shelve its dream projects like Visit Nepal 2020 and Sagarmatha Sambad. But the priority of the government is now to save the lives of people from the pandemic and provide bread and butter to those vulnerable and needy groups. As the PM said, it is imperative to boost the morale and self-confidence of the doctors, who are on the frontline of battle against the virus. Unless they serve the patients with confidence and hope, the entire efforts at squashing the contagion will go down the tube. In a similar manner, the government must introduce the economic recovery package to stop the fragile economy and business from collapse. This is the hard time for the entire country. We can storm the crisis only when we work with a sense of solidarity and unity, enabling the government to successfully implement its measures adopted to flatten the virus’s curve.