THIS is apropos the article ‘Beyond the numbers’ (May 2) and your editorial ‘Weak virus strategy’ (April 28). Our coronavirus figures are becoming more alarming.

The country director, Population Council, Islamabad, has observed that the rapid spread of coronavirus is concentrated in our largest and fast expanding urban centres like Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, and so on.

The regions of Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Balochistan put together have reported the least number (or a far lesser quantum) of Covid-19 cases. Obviously, the residents of these regions have displayed considerable maturity, responsibility in the daily conduct of their lives, which is indeed commendable.

Social distancing may perhaps be easier to achieve in these far-flung, mostly pristine regions.

It is imperative that we all realised that this brutal pandemic we are confronted with demands measures such as social distancing, wearing masks, avoiding crowded avenues and using hand sanitisers; these SOPs should be adopted by every urban citizen on a ‘self-policing basis’, be it at home or in the market/workplace.

We simply cannot deploy a policeman or a local community official in every locality, market, shop, factory, office or residential street to police or force compliance of the globally agreed SOPs. Meanwhile, the emerging socio-economic issues we have to face sooner rather than later in the urban areas are: rapid population growth, unemployment fuelled by the return of expatriates, failing or shuttered businesses in the local arena and private and public sector downturn and/or outright stagnation.

Contingency plans should be discussed, prepared, conceived and implemented in real time with the participation of all stakeholders; if there is hesitation or lack of co-ordination, one large central authority should call the shots.

Moreover, the allocation of funds towards specific, high-value Covid-19 tasks (like the import of PPEs, allocation of large spaces set aside for virus sufferers, and research and development to mould preventive or curtailment medicines) should be ensured by the finance ministry, SBP, or the provinces.

There is no doubt, the state is faced with daunting health and economic challenges ahead.

Abbas R. Siddiqi
Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2020