Sampada Anuranjanee Khatiwada

THE COVID-19 cases in Nepal has spiked up with more than 100 cases surfacing in last three days. Many of the COVID-19 patients were found to have sneaked into Nepal from across border in India. As soon as news regarding increase in national COVID-19 tally is broadcasted or published, we start to rant about how the steps taken by the government is not enough to check the spread of the virus.
But what have we done from ourselves rather than putting the blame on incompetency of the government is a bigger question in the current scenario. The increasing spread of COVID-19 despite implementation of lockdown for over 50 days has proved that the government's initiatives alone is not enough to battle this invisible enemy.
The citizens are equally responsible for endorsing and following the rules and regulations enforced by the government to contain the virus. While the World Health Organisation itself and the government have time and again said that social distancing was the only key to stay unaffected from the virus, we as citizens tend to overlook all the preventive measures.
The constitution of Nepal has explicitly stated that right to life and right to health, among others, are the fundamental rights of the people, which should be protected by the government regardless of the situation. The constitution’s Article 48 states that it is the duty of citizens to abide by the constitution and law of the land.
But are we abiding by the law and orders? Are we contributing in controlling the virus spread by following the lockdown? Are we maintaining social distancing as we've been prescribed? Are we stepping out of our houses only for essential works?The answer, in a bigger picture could be no.
People, in and outside the Kathmandu Valley are seen misusing the pass for their personal works. Some are even seen flaunting their passes as a matter of pride. During the evening, people in numbers are seen stepping out for evening walks or to observe and to comment on how stringently the government has implemented the lockdown. Children in groups are seen playing in alleys without even putting masks on.
Also, following social distancing in shops are rarely seen. Some people are even seen going to their friends' or relatives' houses for house parties or to attend some ceremonies.
On May 13, a COVID-19 patient in Banke-based quarantine ran out of the quarantine, leaving the entire area in COVID-19 scare. This shows how uncooperative we are as citizens while the entire world, nations, governments and even political parties are coming together to control the virus spread.
This could be overconfidence or ignorance of people about how 'Nepalis' will not be affected by coronavirus. Overconfidence and ignorance could be a 'voluntary misfortune' for citizens as the virus could spread like wildfire in no time. It is noted that the government still has a lot of room for improvement regarding prevention of virus. But no matter what step the government takes, it cannot prevent the spread alone.
Thus, it is high time we question ourselves about what steps have we taken to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19 rather than blaming the authorities about how they are not attending their duties properly.