As the country faces multiple complex challenges ranging from a worsening economic crisis to rising terrorism, all in a highly volatile political climate, a new yet familiar threat seems to be on the horizon; the resurgence of a new covid-19 variant. Although the new variants have so far only been detected and are spreading at a rapid pace in China, the USA and neighbouring India, there is no room for complacency that would allow a similar wave of the deadly virus to hit Pakistan. While it is encouraging to see the NDMA finally address the possibility of a covid-19 resurgence, asking the National Institute of Health to take stock of vaccine availability and making adequate arrangements in hospitals, more needs to be done. Perhaps a more proactive approach that involves screening or restricting entry of passengers travelling from countries with high infection rates should be applied.
It is understandable that any aggressive expansive countrywide testing or closing down of public places would be premature and a largely unpopular move at this point, yet there are measures that the government should start taking, at least to be prepared for any possibility. An awareness campaign that explains basic preventative measures against covid-19 such as mask wearing, avoiding crowded public spaces and maintaining better hygiene, is necessary. The NCOC must be brought up to the same efficiency that it ran throughout the PTI’s tenure as a centralized response centre with an impressive real-time response time to a constantly evolving situation. A fresh vaccination drive is also essential at this point as many who got their first doses would not have bothered with booster shots given how the virus has gone into the background over the past six months.
It is noteworthy that the country came through the pandemic not unscathed, but not as badly hit as it might have been. The coalition government now has to handle this crisis. The head of the government, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while Chief Minister Punjab, had to tackle another viral disease epidemic, dengue fever. One hopes that there is no procrastination on the part of the PDM government in dealing with the threat of another covid-19 wave. The sooner it acts, the less severe the possible impact may be. The federal government knows very well that it neither has the time or money to deal with a nationwide outbreak.
