Countries across the world are still struggling under the scourge of COVID-19 and nobody has any clue about the aftermath of this international tragedy.
Only China, the first country to encounter the coronavirus which triggered the global pandemic, started limping back to normalcy. It has already opened the locked down Wuhan city, the epicentre of the highly contagious disease, after two months.
After Italy, Spain, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany and several others – the so-called developed countries – are being burdened under the weight of immense pressure exerted on their health-care facilities.
Some of these countries lost thousands of their people to the virus, in some cases more than that of China’s toll. It is blamed mostly on mismanagement, lack of farsightedness from the part of authorities and the unruly behaviour of the general public.
The State of Qatar stands apart among the countries affected by the virus. Crisis and its efficient management is not something new to Qatar. The proven track record of crisis management has helped Qatar encounter the newest challenge in the guise of COVID-19.
No government can beat a crisis of such magnitude on its own, without the cooperation of different entities and taking the people into confidence. The proof of the efficiency of any government lies mainly in its skill in coordinating and moblising different departments and agencies across the country and making them work sincerely. The government is primarily responsible for providing different entities with enough equipment, machinery and supplies to meet their targets.
In the case of COVID-19 outbreak, the most important target should be preventing the spread and effective treatment of the infected people. Till today Qatar has been successful in these aspects. The country, even without imposing a complete lockdown, could prevent and avoid community spread. Only a small number of people who had primary contacts with the infected people contracted the virus. Every departments and agencies under the supervision of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management are working tirelessly as a single entity.
The primary responsibility of preventing a community spread lies with the general public. A disciplined behaviour from the part of the people by avoiding gathering, unnecessary visits, whether it is to groceries or other places, is vital. Small steps such as frequent washing of hands with soap and water, refraining from touching our face while outside, strictly sticking to social distancing and using online solutions as much as possible will take us a long way into winning the battle against this invisible enemy. So, let us win this war standing united along with the government.
