It is disheartening, to say the least, that some communities in our part of the world are just not willing to learn from experiences of other countries as the battle against the coronavirus intensifies. Only a passing look at the state of affairs in China, Italy, Spain, Iran, among others, ought to be enough to force everyone elsewhere to take the strictest precautions against any further spread of the virus. Since it spreads by tough, and being in close proximity to infected people or places where they have been, the importance of the lockdown underway in much of the world cannot possible be overstated. Yet it seems that certain members of our religious community, and people who follow them, are simply not about to pay any heed to the government’s concerns or warnings against congregations. Even after a religious edict from Egypt’s famous and respected Al Azhar school, religious groups did not accept the government’s directives to close down all places for religious congregation till things are more under control. Indeed, the best the president could achieve in talks with religious groups was limited presence in mosques. Again, reducing numbers of people mingling publically, as opposed to an outright ban on movement, will just not get the job done. At a time when even the most sacred religious sites for Muslims in Saudi Arabia are effectively closed for everybody, in the largest interest of all the Ummah, surely representatives of religious parties in Pakistan could have been more flexible and accommodating. So far Pakistan has been fortunate enough to be spared the worst of the virus. But, as we have seen, once it spreads it can easily overwhelm infrastructures of even far more advanced countries. Also, nobody should forget that in Iran and Italy at least the outbreak got out of hand in the first place because governments were unable to discourage widespread public interaction while the going was still relatively good. Pakistan should be under no illusion about its own healthcare infrastructure or, for that matter, its economic ability, if the situation spirals out of control. We must, therefore, take maximum possible advantage of our relative isolation from the virus so far. But that will only happen if the lockdown is enforced in letter and spirit. That is all the more important because Pakistani’s economy is not big enough to endure a prolonged shutdown. Unless everybody plays along and shows a sense of responsibility, the whole national effort against the virus will unravel. *