By Aashish Mishra
Kathmandu, Aug. 20: Considering the rapidly rising cases of COVID-19, the Chief District Officers of the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley have decided to impose a week-long prohibition order in the valley effective from Wednesday midnight. But the valley’s residents, mostly those running businesses, are less than pleased with the decision.
“Are we seriously entering into another confinement phase less than a month after the previous lockdown was lifted?” asked Srishti Rana. The 28-year-old receptionist at an automobile dealer office could not understand the logic behind the order and asked, “What good will imposing a restriction inside the valley do when the problem is with the people coming from outside?”
Shopkeeper Ganesh Man Pradhan, 43, was equally perplexed and dismissed the move as a reactionary show-of-action. “Cases were rising dramatically and the administrations needed to show that they were doing something. So, they imposed this prohibition, just for show!” he furiously exclaimed. “If they had thought things through then their first action would have been sealing off the entry points of Kathmandu, not this.”
Sandesh Maharjan, a 30-year-old data analyst, was cooler headed about the new restrictions. “Many may dislike it, but everyone agrees that it was necessary. And they gave us advanced notice so we have a day to get our affairs in order.”
With the order declared, the authorities should now focus on stabilising businesses and people’s livelihoods. “We do not want the same economic devastation and poverty-driven migration that we saw during the previous lockdown.”
As a data analyst, he can make sense of the rising graph of infections and hence, asks everyone to prepare for another possible prolonged closure. “It is unlikely that weeks and months of rise will be curbed by just one week of shutdown. It does not make mathematical sense,” he said, adding, “So, the restrictions may be extended beyond August 26.”
Supporting his hypothesis are the prohibition orders in other parts of the country. They were also initially only imposed for five to seven days but were extended for months.