Daily Times

Pakistan risks ‘sleepwalking’ into a coronavirus catastrophe where death tolls reach levels seen in the West and perilously under-resourced hospitals are pushed to the brink, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said on Monday.

According to Bilawal, the country’s response to the pandemic so far has been characterised by federal foot-dragging over a comprehensive lockdown and an unwillingness to divert cash to the buckling health care system. “There is definitely a false sense of security that we’ve seen from the start of this crisis,” Bilawal said in a video call from his office in Karachi. “We have seen a desire to ignore science and facts and the examples of what has been happening around us internationally, which has hampered us taking the timely and necessary action,” he added.

Pakistan so far has recorded 95 deaths from a total of 5,478 cases, but experts worry the impoverished country of 215 million people – many of whom live in cramped, multi-generational households – is only at the start of the coronavirus curve. Prime Minister Imran Khan has faced particular criticism after saying Pakistan cannot afford a country-wide lockdown, citing the economic damage that will be unleashed. A de facto lockdown is now in place across the country after provinces acted independently to shutter schools and companies, but officials are under pressure to loosen restrictions as the economy suffers. Bilawal noted that provincial health advisers, academics and experts have recommended tougher measures across Pakistan. “We can bring the economy back to life, but we cannot bring people back to life,” he said. “If we just hope for the best and don’t prepare for the worst […] then Pakistan is sleepwalking into a disastrous situation and I genuinely fear for the consequences,” he added. The PPP lawmaker said the situation in Pakistan can be worse than the United States or western Europe due to a shortage of protective gear for medical staff, a lack of critical care beds and other problems with the underfunded health care system.