THE speed with which the tally of both the infected persons and deaths is rising on a daily basis has apparently baffled the Government as well with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza hinting at possibility of re-imposition of strict lockdown after review of the situation in post-Eid days. Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he lamented that the Government’s instructions to control the spread of the virus are not being followed and warned that any further negligence over the implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) could worsen the situation as the daily number of cases skyrocketed.
The Special Assistant has reasons to worry as the number of confirmed cases in the country has crossed fifty-seven thousand while the death tally is nearing 1200. It is to be noted that we are witnessing surge in the cases in continuation of the precarious situation that existed before decision of the authorities concerned to revert back to normal routines for all segments of the society and sectors of the economy barring reopening of the educational institutions and a ban on holding of marriage ceremonies or public meetings. As it takes about two weeks for symptoms to appear in new cases, the situation would become clear in post-Eid period as SOPs were widely flouted in bazaars, markets, shopping malls and mosques. Only a fraction of the people roaming about in streets, roads and markets are wearing masks, which is a must in most of the countries affected by the virus. The scenes one observed sent a shocking message of people being under the wrong impression that the Convid-19 was a story of the past and that there was nothing to worry about. What we did was in sharp contrast to countries like Saudi Arabia, which imposed curfew on the occasion of Eid to minimize the risk with advisory for people to offer Eid prayers at home. The Government has obviously allowed resumption of routine activities out of concern for the ordinary citizen who was facing financial and economic difficulties due to partial lockdown. People must understand that social distancing and other precautionary measures offer only effective check against the spread of this contagious disease and every one of us should follow the SOPs for our own sake and that of others.
