Diligent awareness raising?

During times like this, expectations are naturally high among the population that the leadership will step in to give a correct assessment of what’s going on and how the country will be handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

As an overseas Pakistani living in a country where the government has taken extreme steps on enforcing preventive measures across the board, it often agitates me when our own leadership either falls short of the latter, or portrays something as sensitive as Covid-19 in a less than serious manner.

During PM Khan’s official speech on the pandemic, he immediately defines the parameters of the virus as: a) spreading fast, with the caveat that, b) 97 percent cases lead to recovery, whereas 90 percent of cases are just mild cases involving flu-like symptoms and a cough. Beyond this he clarifies that 4-5 percent of cases are such which require medical attention and hospitals and that the most affected are those who are of an elderly age with low-levels of immunity.

My concern is that you are addressing a nation, most of whom are uneducated and unaware of the actual symptoms of Covid-19. Perhaps for many of them, this is a formal introduction to the virus and its effect on people and you lead out with (what has now become a pandemic virus) how it barely affects health. At the outset, this has the necessary repercussion of people becoming too relaxed with the virus and immediately treating it like a common flu. This in itself is a recipe for disaster, given how Khan himself refers to the virus as being transmitted easily and fast.

What should have been said to define the virus is that it spreads fast and could impact almost anyone over the age ten (as noted by general research); and as a necessary precaution all people should stay home and away from public spaces until the relevant authorities deem it safe to continue living your daily life. Yes, I understand that there is a need to avoid mass hysteria and chaos; and maybe defining the virus as something ‘normal’ might not cause concern and panic among the masses. But, given how fast this virus is spreading across the globe, everyone has a right to know how dangerous it is and how it can infect others alike, including your elderly parents at home. You don’t downplay the severity of a virus to avoid chaos. You inform your people in a responsible manner so that they can start taking precautionary measures ASAP.

Khan then also attempts to justify the dilemma that after the first 20 cases which tested positive for Covid-19, the government reacted in an appropriate manner by not locking down the country, but by disrupting public gatherings, closing down schools and other educational institutes. He mentions three countries as examples that Pakistan was observing/monitoring during this crisis (Italy, UK and USA) because apparently the rest of the world had no such cases or contingency plans in place to learn from. Khan offered the justification that had the country gone on lockdown mode, thousands of underprivileged people would suffer as a result, given Pakistan’s economic and related situation.

The dilemma stands justified. But was this justification on par with the progression with which Covid-19 is actually spreading? Khan mentioned monitoring other countries. How exactly did he miss the pace at which this virus spreads? Was Italy not a good enough case to understand the magnitude of its progression? Based on that, how justified is it to say that a lockdown was not necessary early on? Is there a particular number of cases to be reached before the country decides to take precautionary measures? Does a population of 210 million (plus) not dictate early measures and contingency plans? And by contingency plans I strongly mean for the underprivileged.

Very often, we lack the necessary expertise to deal with something we are unsure about ourselves, but that does not mean we wait until it arrives at our doorstep for us to decide whether we let it in or not. The decision has to be made in advance. And in this case, Khan proudly expresses how Pakistan was monitoring the situation since January 15, 2020 – when things started to get rough for China. I wonder why it took this long for the government to issue notifications.

Most of Europe at this point is on lockdown. I am one of the persons affected by this. I am not allowed to leave my house unless absolutely necessary (groceries or to support someone who needs assistance). Among other precautions, if I am caught by the police lingering around the city, I will either be sent home or receive a hefty fine should I refuse. Public transport, which even the privileged people here use, is strongly discouraged. Trams and underground stations seem like scenes from an apocalypse movie at times, it is so deserted now. There is no in between.

The point is that the lockdown began way before things escalated to where they are now. Where I presently live, there were no more than 300-400 cases before the government instructed all offices to shut down and employees to work from home. As of today, there are over 2000 cases and it has just been a week since the lockdown started – hence proving the severity of the virus’s progression even with such strict measures.

For Pakistan, this is still not happening. The Capital remains robustly active with people going about their business as if things are normal – and here I mean the general public. Perhaps they think it is a normal virus with flu-like symptoms which will heal sooner than later. Why stay ‘quarantined’ when the leader said it’s not too serious? So what if he said be cautious and avoid public gatherings. He also said most people don’t suffer too long and that it mainly affects the elderly in terms of serious health issues.

This is exactly why responsible messages are essential in a country like Pakistan. We need to hear it from the leadership and when the leadership is so casual about it, how exactly can you blame the common public from going about their life normally?

As of today, there are over 500 reported cases of Covid-19 across Pakistan. God knows how many are unreported at this point. The prime minister (unnecessarily) concedes that the virus will inevitably spread in Pakistan. That’s as if he has already accepted the consequences of its damage before taking any real measures to prevent this from spreading in the first place. More often than not, you will see people themselves going into what everyone has started referring to as ‘quarantine mode’ by doing research at home or just following the news (no thanks to the leadership!).

Pakistan needs to be more responsible in preventing Covid-19. It goes without saying that this virus has impacted the entire world and the only way to avert it from spreading is through precautionary measures and strict social distancing policing. History is being written as we speak. We do not want to be the ones who learned nothing from those who have already suffered. Be diligent. Be responsible. Be a leader.

The writer is a lawyer based in Vienna.

Email: saadurrehman@hotmail. com