Mutated Covid cases

Several people across the country have tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain that was first detected in the UK, raising fresh questions about whether air travel restrictions should have been applied sooner. And while ‘only’ five cases had been detected by Tuesday — all from overseas — it raises new concerns about how we will avoid an explosion of cases, given people’s refusal to follow social distancing rules and other restrictions. In the last week, even before the British strain cases were detected, we had been seeing some of our worst days for infections and deaths since the pandemic began.

The new strain is about 50 per cent more contagious than the original one, according to the University of London, and while most reports suggest it is not deadlier than the original, the increase in total cases could lead to hospitals being overloaded and sick people being unable to access treatment. This is further strengthened when we recall that senior government health officials, the cabinet, and the PM himself have freely admitted the weaknesses in our healthcare system. And while the NCOC is crediting the measures already taken for helping to detect the five British cases, we have no assurance that undetected cases are already out there. Even though track and trace efforts for their contacts are also underway, there is a high chance of cases slipping through. This will only increase as more cases are detected.

Extending travel restrictions relating to the UK should be a given. The only question is whether or not to enhance them to include Pakistanis. The UK has little justification to object. After all, it is their own political leadership that sat on the news of a new strain for weeks, if not months. Instead, we have seen several other countries reporting cases of the UK strain in recent days. This includes the US and India — the two worst-affected by the original strain. If the British government had been honest, the country’s post-Brexit trade dealings would not have included becoming an exporter of deadly diseases.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2020.

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