‘We are clearly heading towards a situation India is facing’: Pakistan’s ticking Covid timebomb

[PakSword]

do you know that a lot of govt offices and ministries are not following the SOPs laid down by NCOC, i.e. no rotation policy, no 50% staff etc (and all of this because of our apthetic 19th century system of kaaghzi karrawaayi, and ages old filing system, if a person is on rotation, he cannot sign, and the file will not be processed, no e-working whatsover)? if the people in govt are not interested, why would the common be serious about it?

So why is the govt not halting all international flights immediately? they didnt do so with UK variant, they arent doing anything now. Kuwain main say kutta tou nikaalo sirf paani nikaalnay say kia hoga?

During the first wave, UAE never crossed 1000 daily cases, second wave came.. and with all the restrictions and testing, daily cases reached 1600.. Third wave, and UAE with the same restrictions reached over 3500.

I hope our people understand that in every country, every new wave is breaking the previous records of daily cases.

 

[Blacklight]

Declare martial law in major urban areas , lock it all down and enforce strict shoot on sight curfew in the next week until the majority are vaccinated - otherwise expect the same.

Wouldn't this starve the daily wage earners to death? Besides on vaccination, we are moving at a snails pace. Severe shortage, nothing to be found.

 

[litman]

The only statement which we Pakistanis always make is "Only Allah can save Pakistan". This stands extremely true even today. We ourselves don't have the resources and vision to fight this of. But the figures from Pakistan and Bangladesh are quite encouraging . The new cases in Pakistan have stabilized for past few days although we need to observe the trend for a few more weeks before we can feel secure. Bangladesh is reporting a decline in cases for past few days. Both these countries are neighbors of India which is facing a crisis but both these countries performed well then India in the previous wave as well and lets hope for the best. As far as the studies and predictions are concerned almost all of them proved wrong with respect to covid in pakisan. In the past there were many reports and studies shown on the media and many anchors were creating panic by making claims that according to so and so study there will be 50000 deaths per day in subcontinent. dr shahid masood claimed that according to a particular model there will be 50000 to 80000 deaths per day in Pakistan . but thanks to Allah they all turned to be false. It doesnt mean that we should lower our guard. We should prepare ourselves and hope for the best.
After following the covid stats since the start IMO one factor that is having a great influence on the lethality of the virus in a country is alcohol consumption. It is medically proven that alcohol reduces the immunity of the body. With few exceptions this single factor does have its influence on the outcome of the severity of the disease in a particular country. There can be other factors like genetic make up, BCG vaccination etc.

 

[Blacklight]

what vaccines? how many are being imported? how many are being produced here? what is the govt's plan for mass vaccinations? not everyone will be able to afford 12k vaccination, least of all those who earn 15-20k a month, and those are in majority. govt isnt purchasing nearly enough, and there is no production here. so what you are suggesting is a curfew for 4-5 years, without any work and jobs, most will be dead anyways due to hunger.

Nothing to be found in Islamabad, even for those who are willing to pay 12k. Loved ones back home are in a very precarious position.

 

[Hiraa]

No we ain't getting caught anywhere . It's the same situation we faced last year as well at this time of the year when eid is around the corner. Media has again created hype and govt will only get tougher before eid but after it, you will see all partial lockdown measures will be taken off one by one just like last year. As long as our daily count is around 5k-7k, we can manage it

how are you so sure that our system wont collapse? We dont have nearly enough resources as India and look at them, they are at beyond breaking point.

our hospitals are almost all filled up, how are we going to “ manage” if the cases surge without strict lockdowns?

 

[Blacklight]

do you know that a lot of govt offices and ministries are not following the SOPs laid down by NCOC, i.e. no rotation policy, no 50% staff etc (and all of this because of our pathetic 19th century system of kaaghzi karrawaayi, and ages old filing system, if a person is on rotation, he cannot sign, and the file will not be processed, no e-working whatsover)? if the people in govt are not interested, why would the common be serious about it?

So why is the govt not halting all international flights immediately? they didnt do so with UK variant, they arent doing anything now. Kuwain main say kutta tou nikaalo sirf paani nikaalnay say kia hoga?

Nobody is asking the govt, how in the world did the UK variant get in, when pre-flight covid tests were mandatory?

 

[Hiraa]

Nothing to be found in Islamabad, even for those who are willing to pay 12k. Loved ones back home are in a very precarious position.

vaccines are being supplied to elites, their friends and relatives first. Rest of the country can wait I suppose.

Nobody is asking the govt, how in the world did the UK variant get in, when pre-flight covid tests were mandatory?

Exactly. Why flights from UK werent banned immediately when UK variant was on the surge? People from Manchester flew in and attended weddings because they were “bored”. Incompetence of highest level.

 

[Samurai_assassin]

At such critical times the lati is a must. Strike hard at the legs of those that break the rules.

 

[Valar.]

Our problem is not just the virus or different strains/variants but also the season or time of the year we are in,i.e., Ramazan/Eid.

Druring the month of Ramazan especially in 2nd half, people shop like crazy to celebrate 3 days of Eid. Alot of outing, alot of window shopping, alot of haggling. Then they buy 3 different suits from 3 different shops/places and at different days/time even. Then comes an added suit for Eid prayer and going to tailor twice to get it stitched and pick it up. Also include buying shoes too.

Last decade especially see Iftar parties and sometimes Sehri parties.

Then comes Eid. People pray in mosque and hug each other multiple times. Then they meet and greet others at home and visit others too for 2/3 days.

This is the time of the year when our traders/shopkeepers/tailors make a lot of money. 1/4th or 1/3rd of their annual income comes from this season. Ofcourse, our entire textile industry is dependent on it too. Ofcourse its summer so expect ladies having some lawn/veil spree too.

We can't have a lockdown now and we can't regularly impose SOPs on people through regular law enforcement. The best thing we can do is to bring military into enforcing sops. This is exactly what we are doing. Also to create public awareness even if it sounds fear mongering.

Damage will be there, no doubt, but hopefully to a lesser extent with stricter enforcement of sops.

Anyway, today is 14th(?) fast, so our battle just begins. 15 more days of Ramazan, 3 days of Eid and around 2 weeks after that of consequences of mingling too much.

Hoping for better days.

 

[SQ8]

Wouldn't this starve the daily wage earners to death? Besides on vaccination, we are moving at a snails pace. Severe shortage, nothing to be found.

That is the weigh off to be made:

starve 500000 for x weeks
Infect 50 million over x months

Nobody is asking the govt, how in the world did the UK variant get in, when pre-flight covid tests were mandatory?

Because they all flew in - and the Pakistani system is a joke anyway where a phone call or basic threats can get you in.

 

[denel]

Indians entry is banned in Pakistan and also Middle East has suspended flights from India so chance of Indian variant entering into Pakistan via UAE and Saudia Arab is pretty low. Also the corona numbers in Pakistan is every muchodesg as compare to India or Iran

Listen friend, this is exactly the kind of talk which will get you into trouble.

You have similar challenges e.g. Hep C compromised patients who may be on antiviral meds, plus diabetes not to mention drug addict population; plus poverty; this virus will mutate as we saw it here and results were devastating.

You need to be on guard and not be complacent. Prevention is the best medicine right now.

 

[dbc]

No I didn't.. But I am sure that the variant is already here..

Sorry I thought it was you. May have been someone else that mentioned some pilgrims had recently arrived from India.

 

[Blacklight]

Our problem is not just the virus or different strains/variants but also the season or time of the year we are in,i.e., Ramazan/Eid.

Druring the month of Ramazan especially in 2nd half, people shop like crazy to celebrate 3 days of Eid. Alot of outing, alot of window shopping, alot of haggling. Then they buy 3 different suits from 3 different shops/places and at different days/time even. Then comes an added suit for Eid prayer and going to tailor twice to get it stitched and pick it up. Also include buying shoes too.

Last decade especially see Iftar parties and sometimes Sehri parties.

Then comes Eid. People pray in mosque and hug each other multiple times. Then they meet and greet others at home and visit others too for 2/3 days.

This is the time of the year when our traders/shopkeepers/tailors make a lot of money. 1/4th or 1/3rd of their annual income comes from this season. Ofcourse, our entire textile industry is dependent on it too. Ofcourse its summer so expect ladies having some lawn/veil spree too.

We can't have a lockdown now and we can't regularly impose SOPs on people through regular law enforcement. The best thing we can do is to bring military into enforcing sops. This is exactly what we are doing. Also to create public awareness even if it sounds fear mongering.

Damage will be there, no doubt, but hopefully to a lesser extent with stricter enforcement of sops.

Anyway, today is 14th(?) fast, so our battle just begins. 15 more days of Ramazan, 3 days of Eid and around 2 weeks after that of consequences of mingling too much.

Hoping for better days.

Why not Rangers? GoP has full control via Min of Interior? Just a question, hope you dont mind.

Sorry I thought it was you. May have been someone else that mentioned some pilgrims had recently arrived from India.

Sikh pilgrims?

 

[SQ8]

what vaccines? how many are being imported? how many are being produced here? what is the govt's plan for mass vaccinations? not everyone will be able to afford 12k vaccination, least of all those who earn 15-20k a month, and those are in majority. govt isnt purchasing nearly enough, and there is no production here. so what you are suggesting is a curfew for 4-5 years, without any work and jobs, most will be dead anyways due to hunger.

Well - if it is death and misery Pakistanis are used to then let it be. I frankly have nothing I can do except watch in horror so let the streets of Karachi, Lahore , Islamabad and all other major cities run afoul with the stench of death.

 

[dbc]

Sikh pilgrims?

I guess ..I don’t remember...someone posted it last week.