National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) announced Eid-ul-Fitr holidays in Pakistan from May 10-15 and apparently the government, in the guise of holidays, has imposed a nationwide lockdown but implementation of SOPs thus remains a looming challenge.
The statement from NCOC is a clear indication of reducing national mobility to combat the deadly pathogen as it holds complete guidelines titled ‘Stay Home-Stay Safe Strategy’.
The regulations include a ban on shopping on Chand Raat (the night prior to Eid) as all shops and markets will remain closed during the holidays except for outlets offering essentials.
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On the other hand, interior ministry announced closure of all tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, parks, and beaches from May 8 to 16.
Additionally, there will be a complete ban on inter-city and inter-provincial transport during Eid holidays with an exception for the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
The announcements were made in a bid to curb the mounting coronavirus crisis in the country that is expected to swell in the time to come after new strains have been identified.
However, it remained a challenge for the government and concerned authorities to ensure the implementation of the provided guidelines.
The occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramazan, is usually celebrated by feasts and social gatherings and it would be difficult to combat the flout of SOPs during the holidays.
Conducting Eid prayers with SOPs and social distancing would be toilsome amid the recent surge in coronavirus cases.
A large number of people prefer visiting parks and beaches during Eid holidays for recreation and keeping people at bay from them would be exhausting for the administrations.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday recorded around 5,480 new covid-19 cases and 151 fatalities that took the death toll to 17,680.
The health authorities have predicted a harrowing outlook of covid-19 situation in the country, similar to that of weeping India, if the violations continued on mass scale.