Daily Times

Non seriousness of the federal and provincial authorities of Pakistan to adequate medical care and protective measures against COVID-19 put the entire nation at stake. And the obligation to uphold access to healthcare and ensure the food provision for everyone, were also remained merely claims from both authorities.

As of Friday, nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients stands at 64,028 with 22,964 cases in Punjab, 25,309 in Sindh, 8,483 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 3,928 in Balochistan, 658 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 2,100 in Islamabad and 227 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while it is claimed that at least 1,317 lives have lost and about 22,305 coronavirus patients have recovered. The contagion virus has infected more than 5.6 million people in 202 countries and territories of the world and over 350,000 of them have died so far.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults over age 60 and people who have severe underlying chronic medical conditions, like heart disease or lung disease or diabetes, seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from the virus.

Health experts alleged that pilgrims who returned to Pakistan from Iran were badly mishandled by the authorities; these returning pilgrims were kept together at the Taftan border, which multiplied infections. Experts say, coronavirus cases in Pakistan are steadily increasing, yet the authorities and the common people seem to be taking the issue lightly.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s in his televised address said, Pakistan does not have the conditions that are in the United States or Europe. The novel Coronavirus cases were likely to increase further but there was no need to panic neither need to impose even a partial lockdown in major cities of the country.

Due to prolonged lockdown people are already facing difficult circumstances. we will save them from corona at one end, but they will die from hunger on other side,” Khan said. He urged the people to follow SOPs and act responsibly.

On the other hand, Sindh government kept blaming that Khan’s central government had so far not shown a similar resolve to deal with the worsening public health situation.

As far as relief concerned among people during lockdown, Federal and provincial governments, both had made people regret by unfulfilling their promises and big claims to distribute the ration among deserving households at their door steps. Allies of governments have adopted the same behaviour.

On the other hand, on ground reality is entirely different, Claims made by governments and their allies have increased people’s woes rather than providing them relief. This all is constantly being reported in different sections of national and international media.

Covid-19 is neither well understood nor yet have vaccine to prevent virus. And these kind of unfamiliar infectious diseases are always scary. So, instead of waiting govt’s response people themselves, should start balancing the public health and safety concerns with disruptions in daily activities. Quarantining individuals who have been exposed to the virus or who have underlying health risks makes sense, as does adhering to prudent measures like staying at home if you feel sick, washing your hands regularly, covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and avoiding large social gatherings. All of these can attenuate the spread of the virus.

At the same time, government has to be serious now to protect the people. It is easier said than done to keep people stay at homes, but, It could be crucial for the people of Pakistan If the cases continue to multiply, the authorities will have to strict the lockdown or to impose a limited curfew at least in the virus affected cities to rescue the people properly.

Earlier in the March, as the lockdown began and a nationwide toll of corona cases was just on1664, I filed a story urging the government to impose a curfew to keep people at home. So by the comparison, the ratio of coronavirus is higher today. If the government remains relax as lockdown is, the growing crowd of people could increase the risk of spreading virus much higher.