As the clamour over the lockdown grows (both for and against), I’m genuinely getting worried. In theory, there are two things the lockdown is supposed to achieve:
1. Defer the peak of the infections to allow govts to prep and take the load off the health infrastructure so...>

...that it doesn’t collapse simply under the number of cases; and
2. Allow the government the time to mount an alternative response by testing on a wide scale to identify clusters of infections, so that the lockdown can be eased in some places and concentrated in others.
...>

...It is quite obvious that the second part of that has failed miserably. We are still doing nowhere the kind of mass testing that is needed. Whatever the reasons for this being given by govts (cost, shortage of kits, lack of seriousness), the end result is that whenever...>

...the lockdown is lifted, we will likely be back more or less where we started - with very little knowledge and data. And the infections will soar.
We may have achieved a little bit of deferment in the spike but, as fatigue with them shows, lockdowns are not sustainable in...>

...the long run. There’s no point in fetishising them since they were always meant to be a temporary solution. Can we guarantee that if the lockdown is extended by a week, or even two weeks, that the second part of the objectives will be achieved? Given our experience...>

...I seriously doubt it. And that’s not even considering the economic impact on the not so well off and the issues with providing rations.

I understand the Sindh govt’s frustrations and would agree with its wanting to extend the lockdown (based on expert advice) but only if...>

...there were some guarantee that the next two weeks would actually be any different from the last two. What is the point of extending a lockdown if you’ll still not be increasing testing massively?

Just to be clear: the problem is with the entire machinery of the state...>

...not with whether the lockdown decision was correct or not (it was the right decision). Eg where’s that air bridge with China that the NDMA had promised? Why after two and a half weeks we still don’t have enough testing kits? What exactly is the federal govt doing?