Dear Prime Minister
DEAR Prime Minister, I was much worried about you and first lady after hearing the news about your Covid positive test. Our best wishes are with you and the first lady.
Today I have seen your picture along with eight government officials including a photographer in a meeting room with close doors and windows; clearly showing there is no cross ventilation.
Meeting lasted approximately 45 minutes.
Although everyone has had his mask but let me inform you a bit about coronavirus.
Coronavirus is not only spreading through contact it can be spread through aerosols and droplets also, especially when an infected person talks, sneeze or cough, a very tiny particles or droplets called aerosols can carry coronavirus into air from their mouth or nose.
This virus can live up to 3 hours in air and when an infected person is sitting in room for 45 minutes, the closed room’s air can be saturated enough to transmit this virus through aerosol into the lungs of someone who breath out and breath in, in the same closed room and chances of airborne transmission will be increased.
And if someone is lucky enough to escape from airborne transmission, he might be infected through surface transmission.
Because virus can settle down on different surfaces including sofas, tables everything in the room it can live there for 2-3 days and when healthy one touches these surfaces, it can infect them!
This viral infection is varying from person to person depending on many factors.
If someone is positive with mild symptoms that does not mean he is not a carrier or any other person infected from him also carry mild symptoms it might be deadly for him.
What message we are giving to common people? If you have mild symptoms, isolation is not necessary? Quarantine is only way to stop spreading virus.
Nation is following their leaders; their actions really matter especially when the air is saturated with so many speculations related to virus and vaccine.
I am afraid that your efforts to fight against Covid can be affected if such things happen.
I really do not understand the necessity of such physical meeting when there is numerous applications available.
If Prime Minister is not following the SOPs what will he expect from general public? Dear Prime Minister, your actions speak louder than words.
—The writer is senior columnist, based in Karachi.
