ECHOING general feelings of the masses, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Gulzar Ahmed, on Monday, questioned the government’s preparedness to effectively address the Covid-19 challenge, emphasizing harmony among the state institutions and various stakeholders to control the COVID-19 pandemic. A fivemember bench of the apex court, headed by the CJP, while hearing a case challenging the bail granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to 408 prisoners housed in Adiala Jail in view of the coronavirus outbreak directed establishment of quarantine centres at the Taftan, Chaman and Torkham borders and availability of all the required facilities to check and screen the human traffic and submit a compliance report. There is no denying the fact that both the federal and provincial governments are making efforts and spending huge resources in the war against Covid-19 but their actions are not as effective as they should be mainly because of lack of coordination and consensus. The situation would have been quite different if there was a unified approach from the very beginning and proper arrangements were made for screening, testing and quarantine of all incoming passengers whether through land, sea or air routes as majority of the cases the patients have a travel history and almost all others are their contacts. Closure of OPDs and almost non-functioning of all departments of hospitals across the country is also reflective of lack of vision as even critical patients have been left at the mercy of Allah Almighty, as observed by the CJP. This is a serious lapse as not all dispensaries and hospitals (including private ones) have been converted into Coronavirus-handling facilities and medical institutions that have nothing to do with the epidemic should have continued their working under proper SOPs taking care of safety of doctors, paramedical staff as well as visiting patients. The authorities are also giving relaxations like opening of western border which are not understandable as latest trend indicate a rapid increase in the number of infected people. The Corona Virus patients doubled in a week as 609 new cases emerged in a single day on Monday and death rate surged by two times. There is, therefore, urgent need for a harmonious national strategy to address the challenge.
