As per the announcement of National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), new restrictions are announced for high risked cities of country where the positivity ratio for coronavirus is high. The cities include Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan in Punjab; Peshawar and Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh; Islamabad; Muzaffarabad and Mirpur in Azad Kashmir; and Gilgit and Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan. According to NCOC the new restrictions, which will last from August 3 to Aug 31 in above mentioned cities in order to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. The news further added that markets will be operating from 10am to 8pm, only outdoor dining is allowed till 10pm, while takeaway and delivery will continue, resumption of 50 per cent work-from-home policy will be practiced, and public transport to operate with 50pc occupancy in these cities. Here I want to draw the attention of NCOC’s officials that in Balochistan the virus had spread rapidly in the past week, with cases, positivity ratio and hospitalisations all witnessing a spike. These are not my words about the situation rather the authorities concerned are spreading these words. I am a resident of district Kech, and we are under a strict lockdown since July 24 due to alarming situation of Covid-19 pandemic. The local administration of district Kech is on its keen to feel the public the situation of Covid-19 is the worst than the other cities of the country and high level platform like NCOC never feel to discuss the situation of Balochistan and its high risked cities. Our eyes are on our provincial government and it representers to take initiative in order to save the public from virus and alarming issues like hungriness. Moreover, it is the responsibility of those official persons who are representing the province Balochistan in such high level platform. We need the answers of some questions from our provincial government; is it the real situation of the province and its cities that is being presented and highlighted by provincial governments and other local administrations? Why the situation of high risked cities like Turbat, Gwadar, Panjgor and Quetta is not discussed in the meeting of NCOC that was conducted on Monday (August 02)? I request the concerned authorities of Balochistan and its districts to take serious measures to control the spread of virus along with beneficial initiatives that should not be threat for living in the province. I request the DC of district Kech please review the decision of a strict lockdown and go for the smart lockdown as the high risked cities of country are under smart lockdown with strict SOPs.
Muhammad Bakhtiyar
Kech Turbat
