The second lockdown is a serious lesson. We have not been good learners.

In the times of a pandemic, lockdown can happen anytime. This has been the advice from the prime minister since the first lockdown in March of this year. Health Minister Dechen Wangmo has been reiterating the message in all the press briefings so far.

When Covid-19 positive cases were discovered yesterday in Thimphu and the subsequent lockdown after that, our people were still not prepared. Many had to run and do the last-minute shopping.

And the worse is that rumours continue to spread. These are dangerous developments in a time when the nation and people need calm and comfort the most.

There is a clear message from the Prime Minister.  For the first three days at least, the people should refrain from moving around. Stay put at home because tracing and testing must be done to ensure that the virus does not spread in a way that can overwhelm all our efforts.

In our case community spread of the pandemic can be very expensive.

If the people do not abide by the rules, make it a criminal case. There is a need for a more stringent measure.

When the Kuensel comes to your door or your email the first hour today, more than 1,700 Covid-19 tests will have been carried out. There is a good chance that we will find more than eight Covid-19 positive cases.

That will mean that lockdown could extend beyond a week, even two.

Fear and panic are unnecessary. This is the time when we need to be calm and composed. In a close-knit society like ours, help comes from neighbours and relatives still. What we need is respect for rules and protocols. We can do that because things are being arranged with thousands of DeSuups and officials on duty.

Food and essential items will be delivered. We have a better service delivery system now than we had when we experienced the first lockdown. The thing is we should not be overly demanding because providing timely services to more than 100,000 people can be challenging.

Go for test if you think you could have been exposed to the virus. The quicker you can do this, the better, not just for yourself, but also for the whole country.

In the meanwhile, people should not run out of essential items. This is the job of the service providers that have been empowered with committees, mandates and recognitions.

 

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