Terrifying situation

Pakistan’s positivity rate has jumped to nine percent. We are witnessing a terrifying situation, and we can only hope that we will be able to avert a disaster-like situation. Even though the PTI-led federal government does not agree with the PPP-led Sindh government’s decision to impose a lockdown in Karachi, such harsh decisions are required to limit the spread of the virus. The new variants of the virus are highly transmissible. We have already seen how the virus wreaked havoc in India. There, the situation was getting quite better. However, the country’s premature celebrations turned the entire country upside down. In Pakistan the government took laudable steps when it announced a strict lockdown during Eid ul Fitr holidays. However, two to three weeks after the lockdown, the authorities eased many restrictions, leading to a spike in active cases. The rate of vaccination, too, has been quite slow. It is good to note that after the Sindh government imposed a lockdown, many people went to vaccination centres to get their vaccine doses. It is hoped that Pakistan will soon be able to eradicate this monstrous virus from the country.

Kamran Khalid

Karachi