ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis should celebrate the upcoming Eid festival with “simplicity” to prevent a spike in new coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday.

Many people ignored social distancing guidelines and flocked to mosques and markets during Ramazan and Eidul Fitr, triggering a subsequent surge in Covid-19 cases across Pakistan.

The increase prompted the World Health Organisa­tion (WHO) to call for new lockdowns across Pakistan.

“Eidul Azha must be celebrated with simplicity so as not to repeat what happened last Eid when SOPs (standard operating procedures) were ignored & our hospitals were choked,” Mr Khan twe­eted, adding he was ordering “strict implementation” of government guidelines.

Authorities expect a rush of people going to animal markets before and during the Eid days to look for sheep, goats and other animals to slaughter. Many return to their native towns and villages from cities and other countries to celebrate the festival.

According to official tallies, around 261,000 people in Pakistan have tested positive for the coronavirus, including more than 5,500 patients who died.

In recent days, Pakistan has seen the rate of new inf­ections slow considerably.

While some medical experts have said this is because of a decrease in testing, the prime minister said that the “positive trend” was primarily the result of “smart” lockdowns in hotspots of the virus.

The smart lockdown policy was announced months after the virus outbreak in the country as the federal government faced strong criticism from different sections of society for resisting a nationwide lockdown. The prime minister argued that an impoverished country like Pakistan could not afford the type of sweeping shutdowns seen in developed countries.

Mr Khan tweeted, “Pak is amongst the fortunate countries where COVID 19 cases in hospitals, esp in intensive care & death rate have gone down, unlike in our unfortunate neighbor India. This positive trend has been the result of our smart lockdown policy & the nation observing govt SOPs.”

He urged the nation to continue observing SOPs essential to sustain the positive trend.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2020