Experts call for full 14-day lockdown in Pakistan

Emphasise need to create awareness about Covid-19 among the masses

KARACHI: The entire country should be placed under a complete lockdown for at least 14 days to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, experts have asserted.

Doctors, professionals and civil society activists reiterated the need for a lockdown during a webinar organised by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI) and The Change Organisation (TCO) on Friday.

“Many new doctors recently recruited by the Sindh government not been trained to handle an emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic,” stated Sindh Government Children’s Hospital chief executive officer Dr Muhammad Taufiq, adding that many of these fresh recruits did not know how to operate ventilators and incubators.

Dr Taufiq conceded that a smart lockdown was better than no lockdown, especially as the number of Covid-19 patients had surged after Eidul Azha due to people thronging to the markets. Optimistic, he claimed that the number of cases was slowly declining and was expected to decrease further after the smart lockdown.

“Many European countries are now opening up their businesses because they had imposed strict lockdowns in the initial phase,” stated Sindh Social Scientists Forum (SSSF) general secretary Aijaz Ali Khawaja, adding that Pakistan should have followed the World Health Organisation’s protocols.

Meanwhile, TCO CEO Ishak Soomro pointed out that Karachi’s South district was the most infected district in the country due to its dense population, adding that many areas in this district, where several government offices and two major government hospitals are located, had been sealed in the smart lockdown.

“There is no proper awareness among the masses so the disease is increasing due to ignorance,” said civil society activist Shujauddin Qureshi, stressing the need to create awareness about preventive measures among people.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2020.