Lockdown not all doom and gloom

Medical staff from Jilin Province (in red) hug nurses from Wuhan after working together during the coronavirus outbreak, at Tianhe Airport in Wuhan, China, on April 8, 2020. PHOTO | HECTOR RETAMAL | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Lifting of travel and work restrictions in Wuhan could, therefore, spur the production and distribution of these essential commodities.
  • The reopening of Wuhan is strong evidence that, with concerted efforts of the government and the citizens, this disease can be humbled.

The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first reported, has finally lifted its 11-week lockdown.

Its rail, road, air and water transport systems have resumed in a symbolic gesture that has enlivened hopes for a better tomorrow, even as nearly two-thirds of humanity live under some form of lockdown.

Its 11 million Wuhan residents are free to leave their homes without special permission following what has been described by the World Health Organisation as the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history.

Happening in the same week that China reported no new deaths on a daily count since January, the Wuhan experience captures the ultimate aspiration for billions of people in over 190 countries and territories currently under the spell of the virus.

More than 1.35 million Covid-19 cases have been reported worldwide. Nearly 75,000 people have died.

Some European countries, such as Italy, Spain and France, are devastated while developing economies in regions like Africa and Latin America are literally on the brink of massive outbreaks.

MOVEMENT LIMITED

Little wonder, therefore, that governments, corporations and even individuals are racing to find sustainable ways of cushioning the global population from the pandemic.

Although the Chinese authorities remain guarded as Wuhan reintegrates into the rest of the world, the resumption of activities in the megacity casts a ray of hope in a number of dimensions.

As the initial epicentre of the disease, the city came under unprecedented grip of Covid-19. Infections rose to thousands on a daily count. So were deaths.

Yet a decision by the Chinese government to put Wuhan under lockdown that ran for 11 weeks is credited with suppressing the spread of the virus both within the city, other parts of China and the rest of the world.

Guided by Covid-19 incidence data, Kenya has since restricted entry and exit into four counties: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale.

The aim is to curtail community spread and buy the State time to better confront the disease.

MANUFACTURING

In addition, restricting movements from Nairobi and Mombasa is expected to cushion vulnerable members of the society, such as the elderly, who mainly live in the rural areas.

It is imperative that Kenyans observe these additional measures, as a full-blown outbreak would easily outstrip our capacity to cope.

Even seemingly advanced economies like France, the United Kingdom and the United States have grossly faltered in their Covid-19 responses.

With a caseload of 184, Kenya happens to have tempered the rise in the number of infections, majority of which are mild.

It is never easy to stay indoors, unsure of where the next meal is going to come from. However, it is unimaginable to carry home a disease without a cure that can consume an entire family within minutes.

Secondly, being a veritable industrial city and transport hub of global repute and reach, lifting of travel and work restrictions in Wuhan could add international impetus to the production and distribution of essential commodities needed to fight Covid-19.

More than 300 Fortune Global 500 companies have operational bases in Wuhan, controlling key value chains — including computing, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, mobile phones and a plethora of other industrial products.

COLLABORATION

The world is in dire need of drugs and medical equipment to confront the Covid-19 pandemic.

Governments are struggling to acquire ventilators, personal protective gear as well as testing kits for the disease.

Production has failed to match demand, which continues to soar with each passing hour. Lifting of travel and work restrictions in Wuhan could, therefore, spur the production and distribution of these essential commodities.

Thirdly, beyond medical-related products, reopening Wuhan might boost production of other critical products whose supply has been cut by the disease.

Kenya has made special arrangements with source markets, including China, to allow cargo ships and aeroplanes to enter the country and bolster the supply of a number of products that are needed by the population in the wake of restricted socioeconomic engagements.

The reopening of Wuhan is strong evidence that, with concerted efforts of the government and the citizens, this disease, which is scaling up its notoriety, can be humbled.

The isolated Nairobi, like many of its contemporaries around the world, should look forward to its ‘Wuhan moment’.

Mr Cavince is a PhD student of international relations. [email protected] @Cavinceworld