How did K-P flatten the virus curve?

While Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has shown significant signs of recovery as cases continue to plummet with each day, it is feared the province may still be susceptible to a coronavirus resurgence in the future. Medical experts however believe that despite the upturn, the contagion may not able to spread with the same intensity as it did before, given the presence of a vigilant mechanism to monitor and limit virus activity.

“The conditions have definitely improved after the district administration’s implementation of the directives issued by the government. But even with positive signs in our daily situation reports, Pakistan cannot be compared with Europe or the United States but rather India, to some extent,” commented a health expert.

According to officials, the lockdown plan starting from a complete lockdown to ease in restrictions followed by smart and micro-lockdowns, helped the government identify virus movement in the area. “It [the virus] was then traced, chased and contained before it could further multiply.”

It was 13 June when health authorities in Pakistan reported 6,604 Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day figure since February, when the country’s confirmed its first case in the financial hub of Karachi. The same day 1,035 cases were reported from K-P, 2,262 from Sindh, 2514 from Punjab, 771 from Islamabad, 162 from Baluchistan, 51 from Gilgit Baltistan and 30 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir. These figures startled both, the government and the public and pushed the two into rethinking the country’s pandemic response. It was when authorities came up with a fresh strategy, which involved implementing a smart lockdown in areas were majority of the cases were identified and encircled.

However unlike the rest of the country, K-P was faced with a much graver threat at the hands of Covid-19. Here, the potentially deadly virus was not only wreaking havoc in terms of surging infection numbers, but also presented an increased death ratio which was higher than the rest of the country. “It was a very uncertain time and nothing could’ve been as promising as what we did—immediately locking down everything and quickly lifting the restrictions right after with the implementation of various Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). I can’t explain how it worked wonders,” commented infectious diseases expert Professor Dr Iftkharuddin.

According to Dr Iftikharuddin, immediate implementation of the lockdown communicated the gravity of the threat to the public. It created discourse and awareness among the public about Covid-19, which was much needed at the time. “There were definitely still some naysayers who didn’t see the virus as a threat and ignored SOPs. But those who took care and followed precautions remained safe. Those who didn’t, ended up contracting it. However, the lockdown helped keep the two groups from intermingling. With nowhere to go, the virus remained within the same group and eventually dried out.”

Officials believe that one of the most important developments in curbing the virus, was timely dissemination of verified information among the public. “At this point even people with minor symptoms started isolating themselves right away. They already knew what