The government is considering stricter regulations as the country sees no respite in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Efforts are being made to restrict mass movement as people flock to their native areas during the upcoming Eid break.
In the latest move, the government has decided to restrict inbound international travel to only 20%. This means that most flights to the country will be barred due to the prevailing situation. There is a rising prevalence of the disease globally and people will have to spend the second year without a vacation. All tourists spots have also been closed during the Eid holidays for domestic visitors.
Officials are worried that the country’s health system, already under immense strain, could reach a breaking point. Health authorities have revealed that the Brazilian and South African variants of the strain have been detected in the country. These are more contagious variants and can wreak havoc once they begin to spread as it happened in India which has reported record cases and a total collapse of the health system.
Pakistan has made efforts to procure more coronavirus vaccines mostly from China. There are now over three million doses and more are expected soon. The inoculation drive is in full swing but so far only two million vaccines have been administered. Pakistan is struggling to procure supplies to cover enough of its population and also has to deal with vaccine hesitancy.
The nation has limited health resources and ventilators and oxygen are in short supply. In Punjab, the hospital occupancy has nearly reached full capacity. In many cities, more than 70 percent of ventilators and oxygenated beds are occupied. More than 5,000 people remain in critical condition. The health system is on the brink and cannot handle more patients before it collapses.
The Pakistan army has been deployed in 16 major cities with high positivity rates to assist civilian law enforcement in enforcing measures meant to curb the spread of the virus. The onus is now on the public to heed advice on social distaining, wearing masks, and other precautionary measures during the holy month of Ramazan. The failure to do so will see our situation similar to our neighbour which we would be certainly unable to handle.
