Health experts, religious scholars call for following SOPs to prevent deaths

Renowned health experts and eminent religious scholars, including Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman, have urged the people to pay heed to calls by the authorities and health experts regarding precautionary measures, saying people should follow all the standard operating procedures (SOPs), wear face masks regularly, avoid congregations and adopt other preventive measures to lower the death rate due to infectious disease as much as possible.

They were speaking at an online seminar on “Current situation of COVID-19 and our responsibility” here on Tuesday. The seminar was organised by the Islamic Medical Learners Association (IMLA) and it was addressed by eminent religious scholars, including Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman, Vice Chancellor DUHS Prof Saeed Quraishy, and IMLA President and renowned pediatric oncologist Dr Shamvil Ashraf.

Prof Saeed Quraishy said: “Experts are warning of thousands of deaths in Pakistan during the next couple of months, but I believe that a lot of damage can be averted by taking simple precautionary measures. Wearing masks, washing hands frequently, avoiding congregations and remaining indoors most of the time can save hundreds of precious lives.”

He maintained that national and international experts had warned that COVID-19 would have its peak somewhere in August this year and they had feared thousands of deaths, but he deplored that daily hundreds of people were seen roaming on the streets without masks on their faces, which was the height of carelessness.

He maintained that according to some reports, 40 per cent population of the Balochistan province was infected with the coronavirs while the overall situation in the country with respect to the outbreak was deteriorating with each passing day. “The death toll is constantly on the rise, and without following SOPs, we will not be able to protect ourselves from the deadly disease.”

“We would have to take the coronavirus pandemic more seriously, and not only the common people but doctors and paramedical staff should also be more careful. Don’t take off protective clothing and masks while performing duties in COVID-19 wards while it is also important for them to take safety measures at home,” he said, adding that doctors should be a role model for the common people during this pandemic.

In his address, Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman said SOPs agreed upon between the Ulema and the authorities were adopted at mosques. He added that one of holiest mosques, Masjid-e-Nabvi, and other mosques in the Islamic world are now opened as per the same SOPs.

“It should be a matter of pride for us. We started opening our mosques as per the SOPs,” he said and urged the scholars to continue following the SOPs until the government declared the pandemic over. Mufti Muneeb maintained that if people are careless at bazaars, shopping malls and on the streets, this is not a justification for the faithful to abandon the SOPs and start acting like careless people. He said mosques are places where disciplined is taught and practised.

Mufti Taqi Usmani said strict precautionary measures were inevitable to avoid contracting the viral infection, but he deplored that due to conspiracy theories on social media, people were getting confused.

“Even some doctors gave statements in favour of these conspiracy theories, while some of our doctors were of the opinion that people with the disease need to wear masks, while those not affected should not wear them,” he said, adding that due to conflicting reports, people got confused and did not pay heed to calls for adopting precautionary measures.