As we all know Pakistan is currently witnessing its third COVID-19 wave.
All the doctors, ministers as well as Prime Minister has urged the public to follow COVID-19 SOP’s and wear a mask because the prevailing coronavirus wave seems the most dangerous one yet.
From June 2020, the highest number one of one day cases and deaths have surged and hence necessary restrictions are being imposed.
Firstly, if we look at the name of the virus we come to know that its name is derived from its shape and appearance. It has a crown shaped body structure and was first reported in 2019 that’s why its name is COVID-19 coronavirus.
The First Case of COVID-19 confirmed on 31st of December 2019 in China’s city of Wuhan. Due to coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan China imposed curfew out there and in few weeks the country became COVID-19 free. But the question arises here that is it possible for all the countries of the world to impose curfew like China? The answer will definitely be ‘No’, because a large number of countries are developing economies and do not have a strong economy. If we take the example of economically strong countries like America, Britain and Russia, their economy has also suffered a lot from the curfew. On the other hand, we have examples of developing countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh which cannot bear little loss in economy. As a citizen of Pakistan, I have looked at the whole scenario of this COVID-19 Pandemic so deeply.
The first case of coronavirus in Pakistan was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on the 26th of February 2020, in Metropolitan city(Karachi). By the 18th of March, the cases were reported in all four provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
In March 2020 last year, provincial governments had imposed COVID-19 lockdowns. As a result, many labourers, factory workers and daily wagers had lost their bread and butter. After looking at the conditions of the USA, Russia, Britain and India, the government of Pakistan realized that imposing a curfew or strict lockdown will have a positive impact but it will prove harmful for small business owners and labourers.
So, they decided to reopen the country on 9th of May 2020, Pakistan government had re-opened the country with provision of essential SOPs. As a result, number of cases of COVID-19 increased rapidly. After few days smart lockdown was imposed in the country. Those areas which were hotspots for spreading virus were considered as ‘Red Zone’ and movement out there is restricted till now, and as a result, the situation is getting better day by day. The Supreme Court of Pakistan remarked, “The Small business owners instead of dying from coronavirus will end up dying from hunger.”
Leaving the world aside, if we look at our neighboring country India, we come to know that they had imposed curfew in the whole country but cases did not come under control in any way. Instead Millions of people were suffering from hunger and thousands of people were left unemployed and unable to provide for their families.
So, it is important to look at the smart lockdown strategy of our Prime Minister, as the approach has been beneficial to some extent as the number of cases per day have been decreased by two to three thousand allowing daily wagers, labourers and workers have been able to earn a meal for their families. Looking at the world’s policies it is clear that by and by every country is looking for smart lockdown. To conclude the issue, I can say that I’m satisfied with the smart lockdown strategy because our country has not many resources to help people feeding their families without working.
By Abdul Samad
-Writer is a student of International Relations (IR) at Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technology (FUUAST), Karachi.