Violation of SOPs Continue as Covid-19 Second Wave Hit Pakistan

WEB DESK: The second wave of coronavirus has clobbered the entire world and in Pakistan, which once had reached closed towards its eradication with only a few thousand active cases left, it has started to resurge.

The major reason behind the resurgence of the pandemic virus across the country is certainly the disregard to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) devised by the government to stem virus spread.

The number of active cases in the country was recorded to be 15,317 on November 5, the highest since July 31. During the past 24 hours, some 26 deaths were recorded in the country.

Prime Minister Imran Khan recently announced categorically that the government would not impose a lockdown while urging the masses to implement precautionary guidelines.

National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has made it mandatory to wear facemasks in public places while it revised business hours too. NCOC has also procured safety kits and related medical equipment as the virus resuscitate again.

However, News360 correspondents conducted surveys in different cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, etc as they visited different public sites and witnessed what could be termed as ‘inviting peril’.Most people have started to believe that they were no longer vulnerable to the deadly virus. Therefore, they have abandoned wearing masks and maintaining social distance. The ‘no mask no service’ practice is no more and facemasks have apparently become a thing of the past.

The sights of violation were witnessed during the surveys of the aforementioned cities on Wednesday. Such open flouting of precautionary guidelines has even posed threat to those who are complying with them.

Mazhar Hussain, a resident of Islamabad’s Sector G-11, said that the people were not paying heed to the SOPs. People are not wearing masks and maintaining safe social distance on the streets, in markets, and elsewhere, he lamented.

” They (government) have already damaged our business and life through long lockdowns and closures” ,said Akhtar Muhammad, who runs a cosmetic shop in Quetta.

Another local of Quetta of Kareem Khan expressed,  ” the government is kidding with us every time, there is no such big threat as they are portraying, this is all for money and they have earned a lot from creating fear.”

The governments on their part are trying to ensure the implementation of SOPs but not receiving the nod from the public. The administrations across the country have opted for sealing sites found violating SOPs instead of sealing off entire localities like previously.

Some still consider the entire situation a scripted drama amid financial woes. Wazir Muhammad and Basharat Ali, who both work as collies at Lahore Railway Station, said that they would not probably die from coronavirus but hunger.

With the highest number of cases so far reported in the country, Sindh Government Spokesperson Murtaza Wahab also urged the masses to implement precautionary guidelines to stem virus spread.Further, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Secretary-General Qaiser Sajjad told News360 that some six doctors across the country have succumbed to the novel coronavirus during the second wave.

He warned that the situation across Pakistan could deteriorate rapidly as he cited violation of SOPs in public places as well as in general.

The government spokespersons have repeatedly warned that such demeanor on part of the people would plunge the country into ‘deep trouble’.The virus had waned with the cooperation of masses and government and it has thus become a social responsibility to follow all precautionary instructions or else the second wave of the pandemic virus can lead to a disastrous situation for a country with a strained healthcare system.

Correspondents: Isabel Baloch (Islamabad) Abdul Qadir Mangrio (Karachi), Daniyal Rathore (Lahore), Aneela Shaheen (Peshawar), Javed Langah (Quetta).