he government's decision to reopen shops and malls from Sunday, just as the recent "strict" lockdown was beginning to curb the rate of new Covid-19 cases and deaths, is bewildering. This decision also gave way to transport owners seeking permission to resume their operations after April 28.

While it is true that the recent restrictions on movement likely contributed to bringing down the number of new daily infections and deaths (the positivity rate consistently falling from 23 percent on April 16 to 14 percent on Friday), we do not believe there has been a significant enough drop to allow for such opening. Given that it is the month of Ramadan, people will certainly be thronging the shops and malls in huge numbers ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, and many will flout the health guidelines. One can only wonder how the government expects to contain the virus' spread when such large number of people gather in one place.

It seems the government is once again being hasty about its decisions (as it had been when introducing the initial 11-point directive on April 4, with only a day's notice), a law enforcement officer, who did not want to reveal his name, was quoted in a report to have said that they had not been given any directives regarding this reopening yet from their higher-ups.

While the "strict lockdown" was extended to last till April 28, it did not take long for the authorities to first allow financial institutions and field-level account officers to operate on a limited scale, and then to issue this new notice of reopening malls and shops on Friday. What is the logic behind this reopening? Yes shop owners and other workers associated with shops and malls will be economically hard hit if they cannot make Eid sales, but considering the surge in infections and death rates the second wave of the pandemic has brought about as well as the fact that hospitals and health workers are already overwhelmed, we cannot but fear the consequences of such opening.   If malls must reopen and public transport must resume, we would urge authorities to be stricter in their enforcement of health and safety guidelines. Shopkeepers and shoppers must all wear masks and maintain personal hygiene at all times. Social distancing should be maintained as much as possible as well with restrictions on the number of customers allowed into each shop. Premises must be thoroughly cleaned. The Covid-19 situation is bound to worsen with this new decision, so it is each individual's responsibility to keep themselves and others around them safe by consciously practising these necessary precautions.