If a complete lockdown seems improbable then the government should ensure that SOPs are followed at all costs
KASHMORE: We’ve now known for months of what it takes to bring Covid-19 under control. You need a period of severe lockdown to reduce the spread of the deadly virus. Only then can you reopen the economy, while maintaining social distancing as needed, and even then you need a system of widespread testing, tracing and isolation of potentially infected individuals to keep the virus suppressed.
Most advanced countries like New Zealand and South Korea have gone down this route. They have been successful in curbing the spread and flattening the curve. But Pakistan is exceptional, our rate of new cases keeps increasing without any sign of slowing down. We are not able to control the spread because the government was keen on returning to business as usual even though only a handful of states met the federal criteria for even the initial phase of reopening. Epidemiologists warned that the premature reopening would lead to a new wave of infections — and they were right.
If a complete lockdown seems improbable then the government should ensure that SOPs are followed at all costs. The deplorable outcome of taking the virus lightly can be seen in countries like Brazil and Mexico. We do not want this happening in Pakistan otherwise the country could crumble under pressure.
Nadeem Baloch
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2020.
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