FAISALABAD: Doctor associations are of the view that opting for ‘smart lockdown’ at this stage when almost every house has someone with symptoms of Covid-19, will be a little bit fruitful.

“When we have been raising a hue and cry and urging the government against easing the lockdown in Ramazan, nobody paid heed to our repeated requests,” says Dr Maroof Vaince, patron of the Young Doctors Association (YDA).

He says now the government will not be in a position to improve the coronavirus circumstances as countless people in Faisalabad are suffering from Covid symptoms.

“As we have been conducting tests and treatment of patients and uploading all data on the system, the district administration could have got this data to seal the affected localities.”

However, he says nothing has been done by the district administration to trace the patients and sealing of the selected areas. Owing to their alleged negligence, he says, the doctors fraternity and the masses have been facing problems as patients are increasing and now ‘smart’ or ‘selected’ lockdown would not benefit efficiently.

Sources say the district administration despite having access to all data of the patients, did not go for sealing of the selected areas to contain the infections.

The doctors say the Lahore administration is going to clamp ‘smart lockdown’ in selected areas with the help of the [Covid] data whereas the situation in Faisalabad is altogether different as not a single testing campaign has been launched in any area from where patients landed at hospitals.

None of the district administration officials bothered to sit with the YDA, who are fighting on frontline against the virus, to devise a strategy to check the cases, says Dr Maroof.

Pakistan Medical Association Faisalabad Chapter Secretary Dr Muhammad Irfan says ‘ill-conceived’ policies on the part of the government gave rise to problems for doctors and masses as many medics have contracted the virus.

YDA DHQ Hospital President Nauman Chaudhry says names of patients, address and their cell numbers were available with the district administration which could have opted for sealing of the selected localities to save others.

“It’s a matter of grave concern that nothing has been done by the administration. They [the administration] must go for lockdown as soon as possible as it is the only solution although almost each house has fever, throat or cough patients.”

YDA Secretary Dr Adnan Shakir says [now] lockdown will be a difficult undertaking as the administration will have to isolate the patients at homes. And if the homes lack capacity then the administration will have to take patients to hospitals to keep others safe. “Although the government is late on the smart lockdown step, it will be a good move.”

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali was contacted two days ago with queries that how many localities have Covid-19 patients, number of patients in such areas, any plan of smart lockdown in affected areas, but he didn’t turn up for reply despite reminder.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2020