“Impose Curfew”

-Lawmaker Proposes

As the Coronavirus continues to ravage powerful countries with the strongest global economies, equipped the  highest act of the craft of medical facilities, armed with the most sophisticated education and knowledge coupled with advanced credible technologies and  widely acclaimed scientific innovation and inventions resulting into items and discoveries that impact life, health , growth and developments of all shades, a lawmaker in Liberia is proposing the declaration of curfew to further control the  social distancing aspect of the health protocols released by government.

Senator Oscar Cooper of Margibi County explained that the need to declare a curfew backed by stringent measure could be necessary to enhance the isolation scheme and concretize the stay-home pronouncement. However, he did not say when and duration of the curfew.

Senator Cooper in a Monday, March 30,2020 JOY FM’s interview on a phone-in talk show also noted that in the absence of thorough observance of the stay-home mandate, and in order to avoid people assembling in group in direct violation of doing away with being in group, the curfew could serve as an appropriate way of keeping the people in check and at home than out and unchecked.

Moreover, pundits believe that the  proposed curfew could serve well in containing the people in their respective homes and help a whole lot in stop infecting others while the country is seriously unable to provide the requisite monitoring system to curb the spread of COID-19 from place to place.

They stated that considering the system of government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) wherein it exercises totalitarian leadership in getting things done in the manner and fashion it wishes; coupled with its ability, capability and capacity to sustain such decision economically, we in Liberia have a different form of government and our economy is gravely challenged to respond meaningfully to the economic needs of the people while they remained isolated at their respective homes.

However, others strongly debunked the need to declare a curfew adding that it is not feasible and will even cause the people, nation and government more setbacks as solution than the COVID-19.

Some noted that during the dreadful time of the deadly Ebola which killed over 4 thousand people in the country, and as the weak health entities were, no curfew was ever declared, besides a state of emergency rather all basic safety rules and guidelines were observed which made a difference and the scourge was defeated.