Pakistan’s Corona-virus Battle
According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent updates, Pakistan has 748 active cases with 15 deaths per one million people. Within the last few weeks, the situation has gained an alarming momentum in Pakistan, and currently only patients who are sick with pneumonia are being admitted while many Covid-19 patients are sent home to be treated by their general practitioners. Hospitals are almost entirely filled, even though the number of patients is 50% more than the maximum capacity.
Pakistan is heading toward a corona-virus emergency, yet the response of public has so far been unsatisfactory. Despite these public messages, which are being propagated through mainstream media, many people in Pakistan seem to ignore the instructions and termed it as a hyperbolic fact. Pakistanis view the corona-virus as the least of their problems. Stay-at-home appeals by doctors were ignored. Warnings from the government were brushed aside. The compliance with SOPs was disregarded. Once restrictions were relaxed, marketplaces reopened, and most economic activity resumed, people tended to assume that Covid-19 was not such a dire threat after all and it significantly undermined the effort taken by the government. But point to ponder is that risis cannot be averted until there is unity in our actions.
The country reaped a bitter harvest from the decision of easing lock-down. Covid-19 cases skyrocketed by over 500 per cent in the month of June. Some increase in cases was to be expected. But initial public ambivalence, late intervention after the outbreak, and early easing the lock-down contributed to a much higher rate of increase. People are anxious when the cases are going to decline but not pausing to consider their own role or missteps that may have contributed to this. The public attitude of blaming government while believing in their own infallibility seems to spring from a characteristic that has been in evidence from prepandemic days. Self-righteousness convinces them that their actions are beyond reproach or criticism.
Maintaining social distance has been crucial in slowing the spread of novel corona-virus infections, yet some people did not follow early recommendations to limit physical contact with others. Rationales that people cited for failure to comply with social distancing included the belief that other precautions, such as only hand-washing, were sufficient and some believed that society is overreacting. The problem with this attitude is that it obviates the effectiveness of these mitigation measures and precludes the virus curve from flattening. That is why despite overwhelming evidence that its pandemic strategy has yielded less than satisfactory outcomes, public remain stubbornly resistant to follow SOPs and are ready to carry the burden of the mythical belief in their ‘special’ qualities to govern and manage crises.
But this burden is proving to be onerous as the health crisis now entering its most dangerous phase. Let us all make a pledge that we will take the SOPs seriously, limit social gatherings, and encourage our network to do the same so we can raise the line and flatten the curve.
