Fresh Covid curbs

As the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic keeps taking its toll on major urban centres of the country, the government on Friday slapped major restrictions on the people to stem the proliferating contagion. The government has ordered work-from-home policy for half of the staff in both public and private sector offices and relatively broader smart lockdowns in the cities as part of the second phase of measures to curb the spread of the pandemic. Under the decisions taken at the level of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), indoor wedding gatherings have also been banned. The measures will remain in force from November 20, 2020 to January 31, 2021 in major cities of the country that have shown high positivity rate and bigger potential of spread of the virus.

In a pretty pertinent step, the NCOC has also ordered the implementation of Gilgit-Baltistan model as regards wearing of face masks. Accordingly, any person not wearing a mask will be fined Rs100 and issued three masks on the spot. Supplementing the NCOC measures, the Karachi administrator has issued fresh SOPs, making the wearing of face masks mandatory at public places, failing which a fine of up to Rs500 would be slapped. The authorities must take the face mask fine order seriously and ensure that it has a deterrent effect on the public, like in many other countries of the world.

The deadly virus first emerged in the country in February this year and hit a peak in mid-June. However, it started to decline in the following months but surged again in the last month, prompting the government to issue warning of the second wave. Since last week, the number of single-day new cases had crossed 1,000 mark for the first time since the first week of August. It is, however, satisfying to see that the authorities have sprung into timely action. It is hoped that with the cooperation of the public, we will go past the second wave of the virus less scathed.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2020.

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