As the second Covid-19 wave grips the country, doctors, health experts and officials working in public and private health facilities have raised alarm over the purported non-seriousness of the government with regards to implementing pandemic-related standard operating procedures (SOPs), as set forth by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
And then, there is disregard for these precautionary measures by the public too, they point out. In the backdrop of a steep rise in the Covid-19 curve and fearing the worst, they have urged the relevant authorities to immediately implement pandemic SOPs or close all major public spaces.
"I believe we are getting close to a near-lockdown situation," a senior doctor of the Sindh Health Department shared with The Express Tribune on Friday. "This [the second wave] is more serious than the first wave." Saying that they were not authorised to order the implementation of the SOPs, he urged the government to ensure that all NCOC guidelines were duly followed. Along similar lines, Young Doctors Association president Dr Omer Sultan anticipated, "The coming six to eight weeks are going to be risky."
He suggested "closing down everything" for at least 15 days, which was the only solution to "break the chain" of Covid-19 in his opinion. "Main shopping plazas, wedding halls and even schools should be closed for two weeks," he stressed. Pakistan Medical Association general secretary Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, on the other hand, believed imposing a complete lockdown would be a tall task for the government. Urging for the implementation of the SOPs in letter and spirit, he expressed regret over people disregarding the guidelines.
"I don't see people wearing masks [and] our colleagues are testing positive [for Covid19] daily, with the number [of cases] rising rapidly," he remarked, adding that despite this, health workers were serving patients to the best of their abilities. He particularly pointed out that none of the passengers in public buses, where there was no implementation of NCOC instructions, wore masks, and neither did police officials. "How many people have been fined for not wearing masks?" he questioned, adding that "simply issuing instructions would not curb the spread of the virus." Besides, he complained, the number of samples being screened is also low. Confirming the doctors' concerns, a deputy secretary in one of the government's departments, told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that there was no implementation of the SOPs in public offices.
"Inside the office, we take it very easy. The SOPs are hardly being implemented anywhere, even in our department," he said. He added that one of his colleagues had tested positive but the office management hadn't bothered to take any additional protective measures to protect the rest of the staff. A senior official at a power supply company complained of the same. "Public dealing continues [and] there is hardly any social distancing," he said. The situation is such because "health and education are not our priorities," explained Dr Shoro, saying that despite multiple requests by health professionals, the government hadn't taken any proper measures yet to contain the virus.
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