AS the deadly Corona Virus is spreading fast in all parts of the country but more so in Sindh, credit goes to the provincial government for taking prompt and effective measures to save more people from getting infected. For understandable reasons, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has not opted for a complete lockdown but announced measures that amount to partial lockdown of the province and hopefully these would help check the spread of the virus.
The plan introduced by the provincial government on Tuesday clearly shows commitment of the administration to take all possible measures to contain the virus but at the same time ensure that there is no major disruption to the routine life or difficulties for the common man. The carefully chosen measures include closure of intercity transport, public offices, all the Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) at public hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants, food streets, public parks for 15 days in the entire province, except for essential services. However, the restaurants were allowed to offer home delivery services, which would be mutually beneficial both for hotels and their customers. The educational institutions will remain closed till May 30 while large public gatherings, weddings and congregations, conferences and other events have already been banned in the province by the authorities to contain the spread of Corona Virus. The Chief Minister had formed a task force and his seriousness to address the challenge is evident from the fact that the body has so far held 20 meetings deliberating upon the latest situation in a threadbare manner and taking prompt decisions in the interest of the general public. He has also taken the lead by instituting a Rs three billion relief fund for Corona Virus, donating his one-month salary to the fund. Though the amount is meagre in view of the growing threat but hopefully well-to-do people would donate generously to the fund for the sake of the humanity and a similar fund would be instituted at the federal level as well. The Federal Government is also resolved to provide all possible assistance to the provinces but it is quite obvious that resource paucity is a major hurdle. In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan not only sensitized people about precautionary measures but also touched upon another issue that could become serious if no coordinated measures are taken by the federal and provincial governments to address it. This is artificial shortage of commodities and a new wave of price-hike, signs of which are already visible. Unfortunately, some segments of the business community always remain at the look out of opportunities to exploit even humanitarian situations to their advantage. We hope that federal and provincial governments would issue strict orders to district administrations not to spare such elements. Procurement of ventilators was need of the hour and the decision to ask National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to import them is a step in the right direction but it has to be seen how much we can procure as these are in high demand in all countries. In the past, such emergent purchases resulted into import of substandard equipment and therefore, the process should not lead to loss of precious resources. In an interview, the Prime Minister has rightly called upon the international community to consider debt write-off as the poor countries would find it difficult to pay back their debts because of world-wide measures resulting into squeezing of global trade and interaction. Coming back to home, steps should be taken to ensure that there is no repetition of lapses that we witnessed on Taftan border. No doubt, Balochistan Government did a wonderful job in view of its financial position and administrative capacity but things would have been quite different if there was coordinated and effective response at the border. Attitude of the Iranian government was also regrettable as it did not listen to the request of Pakistan to keep Zaireen within Iranian borders for mandatory quarantine period and pushed back thousands of people toward Pakistan abruptly and in one go. Iranian government was panicky in view of fast spread of virus but it could have demonstrated responsibility like China that handled all affected people whether locals or foreigners within its borders.
