Declining number of cases

The number of coronavirus cases seems to decline in the country possibly due to lower testing even though the death toll continues to rise. If federal minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC overviewing coronavirus measures, is to be believed the government’s efforts and smart lockdown strategy is effective and bearing fruit.

More than 132,000 people have recovered from the coronavirus and now the number of active cases is less than the recoveries. They have been several high-profile cases though including the foreign minister and the premier’s aide on health services. This has placed the nation in a predicament as the situation seems to normalize despite global concerns that the pandemic is far from over.

It has been six months since the pandemic started and many countries are still struggling with the virus. In neigbouring India, the situation seems to have gone out of control as it became the country with the third-highest number of cases. Although the situation here has not reached such extent, the indifference towards safety precautions and social distancing measures raises a question mark on the situation.

Asad Umar has stated the number of cases has dropped in Islamabad but the federal capital with a population of just over a million people has seen one of the most extensive testing. On the contrary, he said there has been no progress in Sindh particularly Karachi, and cases have been surging. The smart lockdown imposed in parts of Karachi was not strictly implemented and was swiftly lifted after two weeks without determining the results.

The WHO had already warned that Pakistan will record over 200,000 cases by mid-July. The figure was surpassed much earlier but now the WHO chief has praised Pakistan for the measures taken to control the disease. The government has been criticised for not taking the pandemic seriously but if the cases are declining due to its measures then it must be given due credit.

Many of the government’s plans have been put into disarray due to the pandemic. The tourism sector cannot reopen anytime and many motels of the PTDC have been closed and employees laid off. Foreign airlines are reluctant to operate flights and the economy has yet to take off. In such circumstances, we have no other option but to support the efforts of the government to stem the spread of the virus.