Under the corona cloud

Pakistan has now experienced its first surge of Coronavirus cases. This puts it firmly as among the countries in the centre of the global crisis. The situation is turning ugly as the number of infected people with the virus exceeded the 100 mark on Monday. Though the Sindh government has been showing extreme care in detecting, testing, and screening for Covid-19 – the disease resulting from the coronavirus infection – the performance of the federal government in this regard has been seen as below subpar. All entry points into the country are the responsibility of the federal government and since this virus is already three months old, the government should have established detection and screening centres at all immigration areas.

There are reports that despite being kept in isolation for two weeks at Taftan, the infected people were not treated properly and still had the virus when they arrived in Sukkur (which has reported a huge jump in infections). This is negligence of unforgivable proportions, as we are witness to the havoc this virus is wreaking in Europe and in other countries that have virtually come to a standstill. The fact is that we simply do not know how many people are already infected. To make matters worse, the WHO has warned that spread in South Asia could be particularly fast given population congestion, lack of sanitation, lack of awareness and the inadequacy of healthcare facilities. We already know that Pakistan’s healthcare facilities are poor and simply cannot cope with a crisis of this magnitude. Even Italy, Germany and other nations have struggled to do so. Despite this there have been hundreds of deaths in Europe. We should be prepared for the very worst. The economy is already teetering on the verge of collapse and nearly half of the people in this country cannot feed themselves if they don’t go out to earn for just two square meals for their children. A complete lockdown of this country is out of question, as it may affect people more severely than the virus itself. The only saving grace for us is strict control at the borders and practical and timely testing.

The fact that all of the new cases have returned either from Iran or Saudi Arabia speaks volumes about the effectiveness of the testing facilities set up at the immigration points. The performance of the Sindh government must be lauded in this regard and other provinces may learn a lesson or two from here. There is an immediate need to take it seriously rather than just issue statements. It is a matter of grave concern that may turn into a catastrophe for the common people of the country who neither have the resources to shut themselves at home nor wherewithal to screen and treat themselves out of this deadly virus. The time for gloating and blame-games is over; the federal government must act now.