The National Command and Control Operations Center (NCOC) has announced the lifting of all remaining covid-19 pandemic restrictions, which means that even self-isolation for the infected is no longer required. The NCOC has already lifted most curbs, which had allowed cinemas, gyms, theatres and marriage halls to reopen. Restrictions on the unvaccinated will remain, which makes sense, because this lifting of restrictions has only been possible because of a successful vaccination campaign, with 87 percent of the eligible population having received at least one dose, and 70 percent being fully vaccinated. This would mean that herd immunity may well have been achieved. As is the case with the rest of the world, Pakistan has probably emerged from the worst of the pandemic.
However, no one should imagine that the world, or the country, or an individual, can simply take up from where he left off three years ago. The world is reopening, but to a new normal, not to the past. The world has experienced economic disruption aplenty; with worldwide inflation compounded by supply-chain crises. It is still a tentative world, even a scared one. Annual vaccine boosters must be added and social distancing must be maintained. The country must still be watchful for new strains of the virus, and the possible need for fresh vaccines.
Another danger which must be tackled by the developed countries rather than the developing is that of a recurrence. The unhealthy practices which led to the transfer of the virus from animals to humans must be ended. Climate change, and the increased extinction of species, leading their viruses and microbes to seek new hosts, must also be tackled. The world had to pay a heavy toll in lives and disruption. It must not be allowed to happen again. The world was caught by surprise last time; never again.
