Coronavirus pandemic: Caution and timely decisions are essential in Pakistan

 In view of the increasing cases of Corona epidemic, the government is seriously considering implementing SOPs. Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Health, said last day that the help of Pakistan Army could be sought for these measures. The rapid rise in the number of new cases of corona epidemic in recent days is undoubtedly a cause for concern, while the type of corona that has caused catastrophic conditions in India is a cause for concern. Therefore, precautionary measures should be taken to ensure compliance. Pakistan's strategy to deal with the corona epidemic is valued in the world. Pakistan ranks third with a score of 84.4, according to a recent Economist Magazine ranking of 50 countries recovering from the Corona epidemic.

The first two countries are Hong Kong and New Zealand, respectively, while China and the United States are ranked 19th and 20th respectively. Proper and timely measures to deal with the epidemic are fundamentally important for overcoming the negative effects of the epidemic on the economy and society. So far, Pakistan has been successful in this regard, but since the threat of the epidemic is not yet over, Instead of being complacent about past performance, the tradition of adopting the right strategy to deal with the situation and potential concerns should be continued. In this regard, precautionary measures are of paramount importance. Failure to take precautionary measures will spread the epidemic. Therefore, a uniform policy should be formulated in this regard. With the increase in epidemic cases, emphasis should be laid on compliance with SOPs and neglect of all precautions while reducing the incidence of epidemics in itself. Therefore, there is a need to continue the practice of using masks, washing hands frequently and keeping social distance, so that the government realizes the importance of these measures in the face of increasing epidemic cases. No need to worry. Aside from the SOPs, the most important step that can be taken to help protect against corona is corona vaccination.

But despite all the steps taken, we are still at a very early stage; therefore, there is a need to increase the number and facilities of vaccination centers so that more and more people can get the corona vaccine easily and quickly. But rumors and propaganda are creating a huge obstacle in this matter which the government needs to pay immediate and full attention to. For this, the media must be used fully and effectively. Legal action against those who spread negative propaganda and rumors is also necessary and steps can be taken at the level of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to help prevent rumors about corona vaccination. Hotels, restaurants Corona vaccination should be made mandatory in transport, private and government offices. Just as the use of masks in public places has been made mandatory to make masks a part of public awareness and expressed through graphics and writing, a similar strategy has been adopted for public awareness of the corona vaccine. In this case, the suspicion and delusion of the people can be dispelled. Until the corona vaccine was available, precautionary measures were the only way to protect against this disease, but now that the vaccine is available, if we still have this epidemic. If we cannot succeed in stopping the spread of, it will be due to utter negligence and failure. Special arrangements will also be required keeping in view the increase in public traffic on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. Safety measures in cattle markets, markets and transport should not be neglected these days. This year, during the Eid-ul-Fitr days, although the epidemic situation in the country was severe and an average of 3,000 new cases were emerging daily, the spread of the epidemic was stopped by adopting a better strategy during the Eid days.

Thus, after Eid-ul-Fitr, the incidence of the epidemic began to gradually decrease. Undoubtedly, this was the result of timely and comprehensive precautionary measures which significantly curbed the possibility of the spread of the epidemic. We should also keep in mind the increase in the number of cases after Eid-ul-Fitr last year, which was the result of significant relaxation and lack of seriousness in security measures in those days; This year's strategy and its consequences, as well as this year's, should make it easier for them to decide from this data that when SOPs were unnecessarily relaxed, the spread of the epidemic increased rapidly. In contrast, during the second week of May this year, when the number of cases was at its highest, however, the responsible attitude towards SOPs on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr proved decisive in bringing down the epidemic graph.