Living with a virus

Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again said the coronavirus is here to stay and without any chances of a vaccine or effective treatment expected this year, we will have to live with the virus. This comes with a stark warning that the virus will spread in the coming days and we can live in a better way by following SOPs and precautionary measures.

The government is willing to reopen more sectors of the economy from lockdown by enforcing new rules and regulations. The next sector which the government is looking to forward to reopen is tourism. In many parts of the country, tourism thrives for only a few months each year and provides incomes for the rest of the year. Tourism has been one of the biggest victims of the lockdown restrictions and the government is seeking to reopen it for the welfare of the locals.

The prime minister had also allowed overseas Pakistanis to return to the country. They will be tested for coronavirus upon arrival and then allowed to go homes. The government has allowed foreign airlines to operate outbound flights but many are still reluctant to fly to the country due to the rising number of cases. It has been revealed that many passengers suppressed symptoms to fly abroad. Many countries have fined airlines for transporting COVID-19 positive patients from high-risk areas.

The WHO had already predicted that South Asia will be the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic and now worst fears are coming to light now. Pakistan is now reporting more cases then Italy and Spain – two of the worst affected countries in the word. There are nearly 4000 cases being recorded per day while the death toll and number of infections can be higher than predicted.

The prime minister stated that Pakistan is facing a different situation than Europe and US as millions of people are living in poverty and cannot afford a crushing lockdown. There is no other way to contain the spread of the disease than to enforce strict social distancing but the lack of public responsibility and civic sense is hampering our efforts and the government might be compelled to take drastic measures.

The situation could worsen as hospitals get saturated and cannot admit any more patients leading to the collapse of the health sector and all efforts in disarray. We have to live with the virus for the remainder of the year and the only way is to keep ourselves safe by enforcing safety precautions.