Pakistan plans to ‘track and seal’ virus hotspots AUTHORITIES EXPECT COVID-19 CASES TO MULTIPLY EIGHTFOLD BY JULY END
STRICT lockdowns will be reimposed in selected areas of several cities in Pakistan from Monday night (15), authorities said, a day after the federal government said Covid-19 cases could multiply eightfold by the end of July and hit 1.2 million.
“A total of 20 cities across Pakistan have been identified as having likely increase in ratio or speed of infection which needs restrictive measures for containment,” a statement by the body that coordinates the national response to the virus said on Monday.
Pakistan has reported 144,477 cases of the respiratory illness and 2,729 deaths, as Eastern Eye went to press on Tuesday (16).
The country’s planning minister warned last Sunday (14) that the number of coronavirus cases in the country could double by the end of June and peak at more than a million infections just a month later.
“Expert estimates say the number of confirmed cases could go up to 300,000 by the end of June if we keep on flouting SOPs (standard operating procedures) and taking the problem lightly,” said Asad Umar, who is helping coordinate the government’s coronavirus response.
“We fear that the number of confirmed cases could go up further to 1.2 million by the end of next month,” Umar told reporters in Islamabad.
Authorities have ramped up testing but this nonetheless remains limited, so real numbers are thought to be higher.
Many in the country have ignored guidance on social distancing, hygiene and other measures to tackle the disease.
People violated government restrictions and thronged mosques and markets – mostly without masks and gloves – during Ramadan and ahead of the Eid festival last month.
Since the start of Pakistan’s outbreak in March, prime minister Imran Khan opposed a nationwide lockdown of the sort seen elsewhere, arguing the impoverished country could not afford it. Instead, Pakistan’s four provinces ordered a patchwork of closures, but even those restrictions have now been lifted.
Umar said hotpsot areas such as Lahore are now subject to “smart” lockdowns in which authorities attempt to track coronavirus patients and limit who they come into contact with.
“The government has decided to go for smart lockdowns by tracking hotspots and then sealing them. This will start from Punjab province,” Umar said.
A senior official said a number of areas of Lahore would be sealed for two weeks, with entry or exit barred, and governmentissued safety guidelines would be enforced in markets using paramilitary forces.
Authorities in Islamabad already locked down one neighbourhood after tracking 200 confirmed coronavirus cases in just one day last Friday (12).
Peshawar too, will see similar measures, provincial and national officials said, with more cities expected to follow suit.
Hospitals across Pakistan say they are at or near capacity, and some are turning Covid-19 patients away. (Agencies)