Daily Times

The spread of COVID-19 has brought up many responsibilities within many groups of people as realization hit that it was soon to go through the cities with the rapid increase of cases reported. As one community held council meetings, through different media and means, of how to deal with the onset of the virus, one must say there was remarkable cohesiveness in the different groups of civilians trying to do the right thing. People were concerned and were certainly on the mark as being pro-active for their communities and their neighborhoods. But like any other community the world is made up of different types of people who react to the same stimuli in different ways. This time it is a situation that has not been known before so in defense to what you may read next, I would like to add this; people are people everywhere. It is how we behave in the time of constraint and uttermost stress, is what matters.

It is imperative for the wellbeing of the nation that we maintain universally applied procedures for the sake of containment and shut down places with large congregations including the mosques

The problem was in the beginning of the epidemic that there was no plan about how to deal with the disease – certainly neither here nor elsewhere in the world. As one buildings residents scrambled for a laser thermometer to temperature test the incoming help, a relevant question when asked -what when a staff member has fever? What will we do? And why only a staff member, the virus was not looking for only one segment of society. In supermarkets, commercial buildings and other secured locations one is not able to enter if identified with a fever- but what about residential buildings or gated communities? Who would be temperature testing them? That person would be at equal risk, so who would volunteer? Nobody had thought this through with any viable source of information or a formatted plan. In the case of suspected COVID-19 fever, then what next? It is when one resident suggested that he will call the Rangers, one had a greater sense of despair at the decision-making process set by individuals who had signs of underlying panic that had been brought about. I felt that the police should have better things to do than hauling a driver, a resident – their children to jail creating more chaos in the current situation instead of recommending a doctor. Perhaps logic escaped the men here, not to mention the ounce of humanity it took to even think of something like that.

And the vital question was posed, why wouldn’t you just call a doctor – a hospital or yes, even the given helpline that has already been established? The Sehat Tahaffuzz helpine (1166) if called, seems to be quite effective and informative. They take you through a process and yes you can speak to a doctor on duty. The doctor then gives the steps to take. Needless to say, they also assured me that they would not be sending the police if somebody reported a fever or if one suspected a person they knew of having symptoms. They would ultimately send a doctor if one was unable to proceed to medical care by themselves.

As news of areas being sealed off created a panic and stir there was also fake news being circulated which has driven people up the walls (their own) in the lockdown. “Pizza guy affects an entire building” was the most common forward on Whatsapp. But my question is how does one even get to identify patient zero in a neighborhood? Not to mention that this news was apparently from India where they are lynching Muslims for being the source of the virus as they claim. Realistically speaking, the back-track on the origin point of contagion in a community that is made up of different kinds of people, is simply not going to be possible here currently as it could have multiple sources – given ours is a semi-lockdown.

Words such as “curfew” or “sealed areas” are terms in our country that in the past have been equated with extreme conditions (usually violence). At that time some localities were run by different mafias. This part of our previous history makes us jumpy and irrational due to the underlying stress. Recently, there is talk of a Smart Lockdown; something that is coming up where areas which have a high outbreak of COVID-19, will be sealed. This is where one will hopefully find the Corona Tiger Force of volunteers can be utilized by assisting residents of that locality with food, water, essentials and any assistance that they will need during this time.

A person who has been infected is not a criminal and should not be treated as one. The panic that has spread alongside the virus is something that can certainly be contained if we as one nation join forces together along with some common sense and a bit of patience. We need this thought process for the world to survive. There have been instances where many media outlets that have been spreading fake news sometimes, even as they say, by ‘mistake’. These mistakes are causing more harm in raising the levels of stress -it is picked up by the unknowing civilian and before it is corrected, it is has already spread like wildfire.

This government as well as world governments will eventually need to put up official news on COVID -19 with a mechanism to combat Disinformation as well. Mischief makers must be held accountable in some way in the near future. The national channel and Radio Pakistan have organized news updates here but the spread of fake news will need to be somehow curtailed in further policy making. The “virus of misinformation” must be contained as well.

Here we must mention that both the Federal and the provincial governments are facing extreme conditions and have done a great job in trying to combat the onslaught of the different issues that have risen alongside the growing number of cases. We must also applaud the different front liners who are putting themselves out there on a daily basis, from healthcare workers to relief and security workers, and any essential work that is being carried on by different people, that is keeping us working as a nation.

Yes, there have been some who have politicized the issue for their own benefit; they will never make good leaders in the future and what they don’t realize is that the overall corrupt system which they were previously used to, is now being slowly dismantled. Neither the country nor the world will take them seriously until and unless they also come onboard to fight the war against this ‘invisible enemy’ without personal agendas. We need to isolate this illness from our world or it will eradicate us. And in doing so we will need the help and assistance of everybody and all segments of society onboard with one thought process to beat this – together.

Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan told us in a briefing that we cannot prevent the masses from congregational prayers in Ramadan by using police force as the practicalities of putting them in jails would not solve the problem. We need the nation to understand and work together on this. It is imperative for the wellbeing of the nation that we maintain universally applied procedures for the sake of containment and shut down places with large congregations including the mosques. The Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina as well as Mosques worldwide have shut themselves down; in many prayers are being held but without the attendance of worshippers. We are hoping all the local clerics here and the people themselves will realize the magnitude of the crisis and adopt a stay-at-home policy in order to contain the spread.

A move in a collective direction, working as a responsible global community to remove the ‘silent enemy’, the novel coronavirus from earth, will safeguard all of us.

The world has changed and it is time we change as well and work together in one thought process, as one world – a cohesive force to safeguard ourselves and our future.

The writer is known for her articles on socio-cultural impact