Is denial still the government strategy?

Having written multiple editorials over the past month pleading with the government to prepare accordingly to handle the massive threat to the population posed by coronavirus, we are, honestly, at a loss of words at the utter recklessness and unprofessionalism with which our authorities are choosing to respond to the looming crisis. How does one make sense of the horrifying and inept way in which 143 Bangladeshis returning from Italy—the new epicentre of the disease—were quarantined in the Ashkona Haji Camp, and the equally horrifying and inept decision to allow them to go home without conducting any tests for the virus?

We've been luckier than most countries in that the virus has not yet reached alarming levels of penetration in Bangladesh. We had at least a month's lead to prepare ourselves to tackle any possibility of an outbreak. We would have thought that the government would take this opportunity to urgently, efficiently and transparently engage with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and NGOs, to prepare a comprehensive corona-management plan. Instead, what we're witnessing is complete anarchy in the authorities' handling of the situation, and we are yet to understand what the government's strategy really is, beyond denial and hope that somehow miraculously Bangladesh will be spared of the pandemic that has paralysed even the most developed countries with the best healthcare systems in place.

What else but this "strategy" explains the mismanagement at the camp yesterday—hardly anyone, including law enforcers who were jostling the crowd, was wearing a mask or protective gear, and families and friends of the returnees were allowed to go in and out without any supervision or protective measures. How is it possible that the authorities had no food or basic facilities for those quarantined? How are they still so ill-prepared? Why were the returnees not tested at the airport or at the camp, when they can easily be carriers of the virus even if they are still not showing outward symptoms such as a fever?

The returnees have been asked to self-quarantine at home, and we know how that's working out—a report published on March 15 shows people who are supposed to be in isolation are roaming around, mingling with their family and wider community, without any monitoring or follow up at the upazila levels. According to government statistics, over 1,200 expatriates have so far been asked to be in home quarantine. But how many of them are sticking to the instructions?

   There can be no excuse for the unprofessionalism and recklessness with which both the government and citizens are responding to the crisis. If this is a reflection of how prepared we are to actually treat an outbreak, we are in deep trouble.