Daily Times

It seems we are coming, if we have not already come, to that awkward moment when the realisation dawns upon us that a second wave of the coronavirus in Pakistan, despite all the success we have had so far, is a very real possibility. Indeed the Pakistan Medical Association, the representative body of local doctors, has warned of just such a possibility as the number of new infections as well as deaths is clearly creeping up. This ought to cause serious concern in Islamabad because the last thing the country needs is a serious enough return of the virus to force another lockdown. Not only would that take a serious toll on the country’s health facilities it would also surely push the economy over the tipping point.

The reason for all this worry is lack of serious enforcement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) just about everywhere; from schools and colleges to workplaces and also main streets. And since it is not possible for any government to keep an eye on everybody at all times the common people must shoulder a big share of the responsibility for a very good trend showing signs of reversing. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that dozens of marriage halls and hundreds of restaurants have to be shut down every day because of violation of basic safety procedures.

Considering that Pakistan is so much better placed than most countries it isn’t the hardest thing in the world to figure out how to proceed from here. People could continue being careless, as if the worst of the virus is already behind us and it will never come back, but that would undo much of the good work very quickly and in the case of another shutdown more people will lose incomes and jobs. Or everybody could do whatever they can and become that much more vigilant and build on the success achieved so far. That, however, would require the government to improve its communication effort. Clearly the way it has tried to educate people, through advertisements on state TV and radio, has left a little to be desired. It must now use all the tools at its disposal to make sure that everybody knows what to do and how to behave at all times. For, even if it is some people’s irresponsibility that forces a second wave, the government will still be held responsible. *