Daily Times

Covid 19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome.

As many as 213 countries and territories have registered covid-19 cases and the entire world is buzzing with uncertainty and questions: How long will the pandemic last? What will peoples’ lives look like once the Pandemic is over?

Many countries have declared restrictive measures, such as lock down, shelter in place, or stay at home orders to contain the pandemic at a local level.

Now it is clear worldwide that these measures should be taken to prevent the spread of the corona virus. This includes individual and environmental measures, detecting and isolating cases, contact-tracing and quarantine, social and physical distancing measures including for mass gatherings, international travel measures and vaccine and treatments.

As Eid-Ul Azha is approaching and it is the need of time to literate each and every person of Pakistan about these safety measures. Because careless socializing on Eid-ul fitr has been the cause of cases piling up in June.

With smart lockdowns and after following SOPs strictly in Pakistan the number of corona patients is decreasing day by day. But if we are careless on Eid-al Azha the virus could spread again and there could be a fresh spike in the number of cases. Hospitals will come under pressure again.

And we can see that US, France and Italy are fighting with the second wave of the virus which is worse and we are not at all in a position to even think about it!!!

So, it’s the time for government authorities to lay extra stress on corona virus protocols before and during the Eid days. Government authorities should allocate enough spaces away from general populated areas for animal markets and must get the markets set under their supervisions while allocating the space to the vendors strictly following social distancing principles.

The local authority must ensure that every individual visiting the market including buyer or seller must wear face mask as per the Government’s orders. Those without face masks should not be allowed within the market.

Similarly, the local authority must ensure there are thermal guns at every entrance and allow customers to go inside only after checking their temperature. And buyers must sanitize their hands before and after visiting the market.

During the Eid prayer citizens should discourage the sick and elderly persons and children less than 15 years of age from attending prayer and socializing within the mosques after prayer. People must avoid handshakes, while worshippers maintain social distancing by keeping two meters distance between each other, and every other row should be left empty. Now as a Pakistani it’s time to play our role as a responsible citizen to follow and make others follow these SOPs. Only then can we stop this virus from spreading.