The situation of the COVID-19 outbreak is worsening rapidly across Pakistan as the country reported its second all-time highest number of pandemic infections on Sunday, since the outbreak of the pandemic in February 2020.
PM Imran Khan’s government has resisted calls for strict lockdowns, citing the need to “save the economy” and arguing that they would be more devastating for the country’s poor than the disease itself, but the country’s supreme body for COVID response has reimposed a number of restrictions to control the rapid spread of the infection that is currently being driven by the Omicron variant.
The positivity rate in Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad and Islamabad is particularly high with over 40pc reported in the Sindh capital. While curbs should have been put in place earlier to keep Covid in check, now the state must enforce these restrictions, and urge citizens to act responsibly to help lower the impact of the fifth wave.
In cities with over 10pc positivity rate, school attendance has been brought down to 50pc for children under 12, while indoor weddings and dining have been banned, among the major interventions. Markets are free to open, however, while full office attendance has also been allowed, albeit working from home has been encouraged.
There is a debate that large public events such as indoor weddings should have been curbed when the first signs of the fifth wave had emerged.
Admittedly, such decisions are difficult, as they adversely affect people’s social and economic life. But acting early can limit the damage and help society return to normality much sooner.
The fact is that the entire globe is having to live with the ‘new normal’ that Covid-19 has brought with it, and Pakistan is no exception. But as the experience of the earlier waves shows, a combination of testing, vaccination, and targeted restrictions can help restore economic, educational and social activities. Some quarters have decried the curbs, particularly restaurateurs, while the education of primary students will also be adversely affected.
Another fact is that Pakistan’s fragile healthcare system may be taken over by the surge of COVID-19. The surge of COVID-19 can be controlled only when all walks of society abide by the new curbs, and following the globally recommended SOPs seems to be the best route to stay ahead of the contagion. The other possible solution might be the mini or smart-lockdowns in areas where a high percentage of cases are being reported.
