The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the people as a whole to an unprecedented health crisis. And the shutdown, enforced to contain the pandemic, has put the economy on pause. From both health and economic points of view, the poor are the worst hit. The prolonged shutdown is very likely to slow the rate of poverty reduction Bangladesh has achieved steadily over the decades. So the country, while fighting the pandemic, also needs to look for the ways to exit from the lockdown and reopen its economy gradually. But the immediate focus now is to keep people alive.
The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the people as a whole to an unprecedented health crisis. And the shutdown, enforced to contain the pandemic, has put the economy on pause. From both health and economic points of view, the poor are the worst hit. The prolonged shutdown is very likely to slow the rate of poverty reduction Bangladesh has achieved steadily over the decades. So the country, while fighting the pandemic, also needs to look for the ways to exit from the lockdown and reopen its economy gradually. But the immediate focus now is to keep people alive.
