Return to normalcy?

The need for the people to follow SOPs and for authorities to ensure their implementation has grown

So, we are all set to revert to pre-corona routine — from the beginning of the next week. As announced by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, the chair of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) — which is tasked with reviewing the Covid-19 situation on a daily basis and making recommendations in consultation with provinces — everything is allowed to function nearly normally in the country from coming Monday. Educational institutions and marriage halls are, however, exceptions. While the latter can get back to normal business from September 15, the former requires another review before picking up where they left.

The decision comes as more than 90% of the reported 281,863 Covid-19 patients in the country stand recovered, leaving a little more than 25,000 still down with the lethal virus. This shows a significant progress on the road to recovery from the reigning wave of the deadly microbe that is still mushrooming in parts of the world, including the US, Brazil and India — each reporting around 50,000 new cases of the infection daily. It took us more than five months to be able to announce reopening of those sectors — hospitality and recreational — that are all about big congregations and carry a bigger contagion risk.

However, as we prepare for the business as (almost) usual, both the people and the authorities must keep in mind that the virus has only been suppressed, and its threat has not gone away completely. The WHO has already cautioned the world to be prepared for a more dangerous second wave of the virus. As also pointed out by Umar, the NCOC chair, negligence and a change in attitude could reverse the positive trend witnessed in the country so far. Therefore, the need for the people to follow the SOPs and for the authorities to ensure their implementation has rather grown. There is no room for complacency at all.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2020.

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