Though the world has seen the birth of a successful vaccine against coronavirus, and its distribution worldwide is a matter of a few months, the world at large, however, needs to pass the wait time with care as the second wave of the virus is showing its toll. Pakistan which waded through the first wave with a huge success, if the death toll and infected cases are compared to other countries, should not provide an opportunity to the pandemic to harm the people as well as the economy. This can be possible only when people follow SOPs and the government shows determination to enforce the law. So far, the public’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been casual, causing a swell in coronavirus-related deaths and infections. On Tuesday, more than 3,000 coronavirus cases and 59 deaths were reported, which is the highest daily total of infections the country has reported since July 9. Data on infection show the disease has infected 382,892. The more worrying matter is the rising death toll as 59 new deaths made the toll 7,803. These are the reported figures. There is a hidden data too, which a government study has recently revealed that around 15 million individuals have already been exposed to the virus. According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 10,050 doctors and paramedics have screened positive for the virus so far. Of them, 98 health professionals have died. There seems no light at the end of the tunnel as according to Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, the coronavirus figures may soon reach the level of June when the country saw the peak of the peak time of the first wave. The situation can be averted only if the people start observing physical distancing and use sanitization practices and other preventive measures. The minister’s warning that “last three weeks’ data of coronavirus reveals that we are heading towards the earlier worst situation” is not enough. He should play on the front foot and introduce more and the stringiest measures. Experts have observed the second wave of COVID-19 is worse than the previous one. This may not be the last wave too despite the invention of the vaccine. Several countries have been experiencing the third wave of the deadly virus this winter. The government should rise to the occasion as it did last summer. Those not wearing masks at public places should be fined. *