PREPARING for the worst in a disaster is best course to protect population from major damages and fatalities. It is really heartening to see that federal and provincial authorities, armed forces and other institutions are working with cohesion and coordination and that is the best recipe to cope with the worst. Indeed Prime Minister Imran Khan is leading those efforts from day one. He is giving message of hope and precaution to fight the contagion. Sunday saw him addressing a number of events in Lahore where he warned the nation of a tough time ahead yet at the same time he was confident that country would emerge stronger from this challenge and become a welfare state as it was envisioned to be. Certainly when one is aware that tough time is ahead and that challenge is enormous, preparations are also made accordingly. These indeed are challenging times as the pandemic has brought everything to a standstill including economic activity. While trajectory of Corona Virus in Pakistan up till now is not like that has been witnessed in other countries yet we should not be complacent at all. Government on Saturday submitted a report to the Supreme Court stating that by April 25 around fifty thousand people could be affected by COVID-19 pandemic out of which 41, 482 cases could be mild, 7,024 severe and 2,392 critical. With this figure in mind, federal and provincial governments appear to be well prepared to deal with situation days ahead. The apex court was informed by Ministry of National Health Services that 207 hospitals in all major cities of 154 districts had been identified for isolation of suspected patients and their isolation capacity has also been increased. At the same time, it is important that doctors and paramedical staff that are playing leading role in current situation, are looked after well. They should be provided with all necessary protective equipment as their safety and better health is important to come out successfully from tough times. We would also suggest that they are given better incentives and salary for working in such tough conditions. There is no need to be panicked over number of people that could be affected by the virus in Pakistan. Rather awareness campaigns through print and electronic media must further be intensified guiding people as to how they can stay safe and healthy by practicing all relevant precautionary measures. The way federal government is trying to strike a balance between lockdown and economic activity is appreciable. Indeed the country cannot afford a complete lockdown situation just like developed nations. This is something that PM Imran Khan has consistently been trying to convey to all segments of the society. And there is also no need to do politics over it by the opposition, which should rather back government’s efforts to reopen important industries. Everybody has appreciated government’s packages for businessmen and lower strata of society, and the recent one for construction industry indeed has the potential to generate sufficient economic activity to enable labourers survive these difficult times. In construction sector, special emphasis should be given to construction of new road infrastructure while repairing dilapidated one, as it does not entail much danger of spread of the pandemic. But as with this, other allied sectors of construction industry will also come into motion, therefore, it is important that safety guidelines are put in place at the working place for safety of workers. Without any delay, we should also reopen export oriented industry with necessary safety parameters as tough times can only be handled when the government has sufficient resources and revenue at hand.
