Karachi flouts SOPs amid fear of a fifth viral spell

A sense of post-vaccination invulnerability and last year’s drop in cases make people believe that the virus is gone

KARACHI:

With coronavirus cases regaining momentum and multiple variants at large, it appears that Karachi has found itself in the grips of yet another viral wave in the first month of the new year.

Having dealt with four previous waves of Covid-19, where logic would entail that the city of 20 million people has learned its lesson by now and grown more cautious of the pandemic, conditions in the city appear to suggest otherwise.

As hospital beds start filling up and medical experts sound the alarm for the outbreak, it appears that the people and the government have both adopted an ostrich policy; hoping for the pandemic to eventually disappear if everyone turns a blind eye to it. However, it is this negligence of anti-coronavirus SOPs by the public and lack of enforcement by the government that has led the city on the tracks of its fifth viral wave, in the first place.

Speaking in this regard, Imranul Haq, a volunteer for a local charity working for coronavirus relief, said that getting vaccinated during the fourth wave has left people with a delusory sense of invincibility. “They think that just because they are vaccinated, they won’t catch the virus anymore and can afford to throw SOPs like masking up and social-distancing to the wind, and continue to live like the pandemic never existed,” said the social worker commenting on crowded markets, overflowing buses and lack of coronavirus restrictions in the city. “It’s only a few establishments where masks are still mandatory, otherwise there’s rarely ever a masked person in public,” he added.

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The claims were corroborated by Karachi Traders Union Chairperson Atiq Mir, who maintained that both traders and buyers have not been implementing coronavirus SOPs in shops and business centres in residential areas, including markets and bazaars. “Sanitiser gates have been removed from the entrances and exits of markets; along with sanitiser dispensers in toilets and masks are no longer seen as mandatory for admission. This needs to be corrected immediately so that we are not forced to announce another lockdown, which would be brutal for the economy,” he warned.

Similarly, Karachi Transport Alliance President Irshad Bukhari, observing the disregard for Covid-19 guidelines in public buses, has also demanded from all transporters and commuters in the city to immediately start implementing SOPs, before they are made to jam their wheels again.

Per medical volunteer Amber Sheikh, the city had been experiencing a steady drop in coronavirus numbers for quite some time now, which had led people to believe that the virus is gone and done with. “Which why restrictions were slowly eased and even people who’d sanitise their hands after every few minutes eventually abandoned SOPs in their homes and public. Until some time ago, people would get tested for Covid-19 at the first symptom and immediately quarantine themselves, but now, after being vaccinated, barely anyone gets tested even when they have all the symptoms and continue to go about their lives uninterrupted,” the volunteer said, adding that this sense of invincibility is what’s leading to the sudden surge in Covid-19 cases.

Pakistan Medical Association General Secretary Prof Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, addressing the matter, has advised the public to get vaccinated immediately and continue to maintain caution. “Vaccination does not guarantee 100 per cent protection from the virus, so people must still wear masks and maintain social distancing,” he urged.

Whereas offering the government’s stance on protocols and policies for the fifth wave, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani maintained that they are still in the process of reviewing the situation. “Those who have been vaccinated will be given a booster dose and whatever guidelines that National Command and Operation Centre issues in regard to the fifth wave, will be thoroughly implemented,” he told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2022.