KARACHI: Expressing concern over the rising Covid-19 cases in the country, particularly Punjab, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Monday called for immediate steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus from one province to another.

It urged the government to ensure strict implementation of precautionary Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) across the country and impose heavy fines on violators.

“This is needed to make people take the situation seriously and follow preventive measures. If this is not done, the situation will get worse and, consequently, a larger number of cities will have to be put under lockdown, causing more financial hardships for the poor and the country,” said Dr Qaiser Sajjad of PMA.

He also emphasised the need for close monitoring of intercity transportation as well as passengers arriving from abroad, particularly the UK.

“All entry points of the country and provinces should be monitored strictly for detecting Covid-19 patients,” he said.

It may be recalled that the number of active cases has jumped from 16,000 to 21,000 in just two weeks with the national positivity ratio rising from 3.2 per cent to 6.2pc.

“The situation is alarming. The UK variant strain is prevalent in Punjab, which is reportedly more lethal and has higher transmissibility. The government must not lift coronavirus-related restrictions till 70 per cent of the country’s population gets vaccinated,” he said.

Learning to live with virus

The association also urged the general public to change their lifestyle, and learn to live with the virus by adhering to SOPs while performing their routine activities.

“Coronavirus is here to stay. It caused many deaths in the first wave, then the second wave and now in the third. Today, it was someone else hit by the virus but tomorrow it could be me or you.

“People must realise that the virus can hit them even if they are vaccinated against the disease as a vaccine provides only 70 to 90 per cent protection and that too for a certain period of time,” he explained.

The government early this month relaxed Covid-19 related restrictions on commercial activities, schools, offices and other workplaces, allowing them to function at full strength in Punjab.

It had decided to grant permission for indoor wedding ceremonies, dining inside restaurants and opening of cinemas and shrines from March 15. But it had to withdraw the decision seeing the rising coronavirus cases.

The association requested all healthcare workers to take the issue seriously and get vaccinated against the virus, which has so far caused deaths of 190 doctors and 30 paramedics.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2021