As coronavirus spreads rapidly across the world, doctors in Pakistan have warned that a large number of people in Lahore could be affected in the coming days because around 5,600 pilgrims who recently returned from Iran have spread all over the country.
These pilgrims were held at Pakistan’s Taftan border crossing (in Balochistan) with Iran, one of the countries worst affected worldwide by the virus, but due to negligence of officials in enforcing quarantine, the number of cases spiked.
The country has reported two deaths and a total of 301 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 208 in the southern province of Sindh alone. Thirty-three cases have been reported in the eastern province of Punjab, 23 in Balochistan, 19 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and two in capital Islamabad. As of Wednesday, Pakistan had tested at least 1,621 people for the disease.
The provincial government in Punjab has earmarked three hospitals for coronavirus patients, and has also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 to check the spread of virus. However, there is little impact of the prohibitory orders on the ground.
Experts have suggested quarantining the entire country, and suspending flight operations in view of increase in number of those infected with coronavirus. Many doctors and nurses have threatened to stop work in view of shortage of equipment/facilities and inadequate measures to shield them from the infection.
For now, Islamabad has ordered both the Afghan and Iranian borders sealed, wedding halls shuttered, and schools closed across the country for the remainder of the month to prevent the virus’s transmission.
Pakistan’s porous borders, creaking hospitals, culture of hand shaking and hugging, and crowded urban centres mean containing the crisis could be a huge challenge.
A deteriorating situation in Pakistan could have ramifications for regional security and more pressure along the Line of Control (LoC).
