PAKISTAN witnessed a record spike of 242pc in deaths
caused by the rapid spread of Covid-19 during the last one
month but projections speak of even worst scenario ahead of the dreaded month if people do not observe standard operating procedures (SOPs) and Government took no tangible measures to prevent the nose-dive deterioration in the overall situation. Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Omar issued a stark warning that the confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus could double by the end of this month and reach 1 million to 1.2m by the end of July.
What we are seeing these days and what the most relevant Minister has apprehended for the next one and a half month is in line with warnings by health experts who opposed wholesale lifting of restrictions before Eid. One can anticipate what would happen to ordinary souls if projections by the Minister come true. Though Asad Omar claimed that these are neither projections nor certainty but there are genuine reasons to expect steep worsening of the situation keeping in view behaviour of the people and passive attitude of the authorities concerned. Already reports appearing in media indicate that health facilities are over-burned and some of the hospitals dedicated for patients of Coronavirus are accommodating beds under the open sky in the scorching heat. Under these circumstances, mere issuance of warning to masses would not resolve the problem and a proactive approach will have to be adopted to deal with the challenge. As the Government is consistently rejecting the option of lockdown despite grave situation in cities like Lahore and Rawalpindi, which warranted special consideration, the only option left is to concentrate on identification of virus cases, their isolation and in case of clusters enforcement of smart lockdown or sealing of those areas. However, sealing is also unlikely to lead to any worthwhile improvement if the authorities do what they did in the case of sealing of sub-sectors of G-9 in Islamabad where advance announcement resulted in massive exodus of residents during the intervening period, putting health and life of people living in other areas in danger. Sindh Government has done well by resorting to door-to-door testing in Karachi and the same policy needs to be adopted by other provincial governments in the case of cities and areas considered hotspots. There are also large-scale complaints about sub-standard quality of testing kits, which have made mockery of the testing and breach of trust of the people in the diagnostic process. These should be attended to on a priority basis.
