THERE is no doubt that Pakistan deftly managed the first wave of the Coronavirus and earned worldwide recognition for its handling of the situation but the success was short-lived as the virus is back with full intensity, forcing the authorities to revert back gradually to large-scale measures to combat the threat. The deterioration comes in the wake of flouting of guidelines issued from time to time by health officials and the authorities concerned.
The briefing given to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday and fresh instructions issued by the platform show that the country was heading towards a dangerous situation where, apart from greater threat to the life and health of the people, economic, commercial, industrial and social activities might also suffer hugely. The NCOC has recommended limiting all public gatherings to 500 people, including cultural, political, religious, entertainment and civil gatherings and according to reports, the ruling party has cancelled its planned public meetings in view of the emerging threat. However, the opposition, which has embarked upon a mass mobilization campaign, is adamant not to follow the suit and is instead claiming that the Government was exaggerating the threat in the face of the ability of the PDM to attract people in greater numbers in its public meetings. In this regard, it also cites recent rallies addressed by Prime Minister Imran Khan and other leaders of the ruling party especially in Gilgit-Baltistan. But there are all indications that the threat is genuine and not imaginary or political stunt and violation of SOPs might lead to more complications in days and weeks to come. As students are more prone to catching the virus, the NCOC is mulling over the idea of notifying early and extended winter vacations by federal and provincial education departments, keeping in view the rising positivity rate in educational institutions. Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood will be chairing a special meeting with his provincial counterparts at the NCOC on November 16 to assess and review the positivity prevailing in educational institutions. This would mean extended loss of studies especially in the case of those educational institutions, which have no capability or capacity to introduce online classes. The Government has already announced that marriage ceremonies would only be allowed in open spaces with an upper limit of one thousand for guests. However, as this would practically mean closure of marriage halls, their owners are threatening not to obey the orders and that they would protest on roads. It is the responsibility of each and every member of the society to cooperate in handling the situation with minimal fallout and this is possible only if there is voluntary implementation of the SOPs.
