Lockdown that hardly helped

So the latest bout of "lockdown" with all its purposeful meaning is finally over. For a straight 41 days, businesses were shut – although belatedly the apparel and later other export sectors were allowed to open a few days earlier – forcing the wheel of the economy to a grinding halt.

And what did we achieve at the cost of the economy? Have the death and infection rates slumped as people remained locked-up – at least on paper? Figures say nothing has changed since the day Bangladesh went into the lockdown. Deaths have remained above 200 a day for the last 16 days. And infection rate remains dangerously around 30% with minor daily fluctuations.

Then why have we taken off the lockdown? Because it is not possible for an economy like Bangladesh to keep its engines silent for an indefinite period.

Keep reading-

• There's no choice between lives and livelihoods
• Ineffective lockdown does not reduce health risks but hurts economy
• Losses from lockdown would be agreeable if it could reduce risks

But could this wisdom not dawn on us before and could we not avoid the lockdown that saved neither lives nor livelihoods?

It is now clear from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics figures that the previous lockdowns in FY20 and FY21 had dented the economy seriously. GDP growth almost came down to half of what was first claimed for FY20.

And this latest lockdown was imposed with the beginning of the new financial year FY22 and the first month of the fiscal year is almost lost with businesses taking fresh hits, the small and medium enterprises the most.