The number of COVID-19 infections this week surpassed the 200 mark with 16 new infections thereby bringing the total number of cases to 207. For a country that is used to reporting single-digit cases daily, the news should be alarming, but that seems not to be the case. For some time now, attention has shifted to our borders as they have been found to be the most common sources of new infections, mostly among long-distance truck drivers and their assistants. That is the same pattern of infections in most countries in the region and most are mulling the possibility of relay drivers; where a truck arrives at an entry point and a new crew takes over after disinfecting it. But that possibility is facing stiff opposition from transporters who fear to incur further costs on top of the delays caused by mandatory testing of all incoming human traffic. COVID-19 has disrupted the whole world, not only this region. Transporters and other stakeholders should look at the whole pandemic in a less individualistic lens because it affects everyone. The self-quarantining, social distancing as well as contact-tracing and testing seem to be working. What people are experiencing in terms of disruptions and monetary losses are just temporary and they have it in their powers to reverse the trend by following guidelines from medical experts. We are nearly a month and a half into the lockdown and the government’s early no-holds-barred response to the crisis might have been met by murmurs and grumbles at the beginning. Today, people have reasons to be grateful.
