PESHAWAR: The people are becoming wary of smart lockdown imposed by the district administration in hotbeds of coronavirus amid the government’s claims that number of Covid-19 cases has drastically come down due to the new strategy, according to sources.

There has been a sharp decrease in number of new infections but the number of tests has also registered a decrease, according to doctors.

“The transition from lockdown to smart or mini-lockdown has helped the authorities to curtail cases and at the same time allowed the business activities to continue,” officials in district administration told Dawn.

Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali Asghar told Dawn that the strategy was proving helpful in putting brakes on the virus. “We are doing random sampling in the locked down areas on our own, before we open them up,” he added.

Govt claims the strategy is helpful in controlling coronavirus

Mr Asghar said that in mid-June the district administration imposed first smart lockdown in four localities where number of active cases was 199 that dropped to 36 when lockdown was ended.

The government has started imposing smart lockdown under which hotspots of Covid-19 are closed for 14 days when the cases reach more than 1.5 per 1,000 people. The district administration notifies the areas and gives the residents 24 hours notice before they are locked inside their houses.

Officials in the health department, who recommend to the district administration smart lockdown in certain areas on the basis of surge in cases, told Dawn that the areas were sealed for 10 to 15 days to break spread of virus in the community.

“During the lockdown period, the movement in and out of the area is being restricted and residents are supposed to maintain social distancing, refrain from attend gatherings and keep the sick and elderly people indoors,” they said.

Officials said that health department made a decision on the basis of heat maps where positive cases plotted and geographical area identified and recommended for lockdown.

During the last 24 hours, Peshawar tested only three per cent positivity for Covid-19 because of the smart lockdown in hot areas, they said.

Nevertheless, residents differ on how strictly the rules are being enforced and many argue that they have very few or no case in their localities. However, officials deny it and argue that health department maintains record about Covid-19 cases and people should cooperate with the administration to control the pandemic.

During the smart lockdown, the administration allows the health workers to enter the area and shops of essential items to stay open but overall situation remains unusual as the people stay indoors.

“Currently, there are four sealed areas in Peshawar which have been facing lockdown due to more cases,” said officials. They added that many people said that they were not able to work due to smart lockdown, especially the poor, who banked on their daily earnings, but administration had to keep them restricted to their houses to stem transmission of the virus.

Officials at the district administration said that that it was much better to have a smart lockdown than a total lockdown because the latter proved very dangerous as the entire city came to a standstill and people of all the areas suffered. “The smart lockdown is enforced only in the area which shows spike in the cases,” they said.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2020