Pakistan recorded it’s first case of the SARS-Cov-2 around late February. Since then the daily lives off people of Pakistan have been seriously affected. Nobody had suspected that life would change in such a way far from what we used to call the normal daily life. We must know get interns and accept the disruptions in our lives and live accordingly. it has been four months and we still haven't coped up with the fact that we are facing a global pandemic. there are many wrong decisions made in countering this disease by the country’s institution’s but let us face the fact the no country was ready and equipped to face this pandemic. Surely these are hard and unprecedented times, but we as Pakistani’s are making it even harder for ourselves.
SOP. We have heard this repeatedly recently and for sure we are not aware with it’s meaning. Standard of Procedure. Guidelines issued by an institution, in this case the government, for its workers and other stakeholder, in this case the citizens, to follow. There is a reason SOP’s are issued. How we carried out our daily lives pre-covid 19 is not suitable for the situation now a days. Yet we violated all possible SOP’s as possible. All what was required to do was to live carefully i.e. maintain social distancing, use of hand sanitizer and just avoid going out unnecessarily. SOP’s are not meant to be imposed. No body can force us to stay home, to wear a mask, to take precautions in our daily lives, they are meant for us to follow as responsible citizens. We have been criticizing the government for not handling this crisis efficiently. We have been criticizing the country’s health care system. Surely there are flaws and it may not be up to its optimum potential, but in times like these, what should have been done was to accept this hard reality. What we did was barging in hospitals and medical facilities and destroyed medical equipment, further worsening the situation. For those of us who are blessed enough, should look after anyone in need of our help. Daily wagers contribute to a significant amount of Pakistan’s working class. But these people are left on their own. There are no jobs for them. This is where the next thing comes in. “Smart Lock Down”. Let us assume that this is just another way of saying that there is no lockdown. Then what? Is that it? We can bash the government for on and on? What after that? Going back to violating SOP’s? Smart Lock Down is basically meant to be a blend of lockdown like precautions while carrying out economic activity. Why is it necessary? Because the economy can not take any more damage. It will take years and years to make up to this damage. But there isn’t any comparison of Human life to economic disadvantages, right? Surely the value of life is much greater than any materialistic thing possible. But there enough that we can blame the government for. There has got to be a limit. Do we as citizens know the value of human life? Or that we simply do not care? Or that we have normalized and come to terms with lives getting lost? Isn’t it time to take this situation seriously and act responsibly? Enough damage has been done already. Enough lives have been lost already. Shouldn’t we own up to our responsibilities as individuals in these times?
Politics. Something that should not have been happening right now. It is not the time to sell your political party on the difficulty being faced by those in power currently. Nor is it time to defend yourselves by comparing to what blunder were done by those in power before now. It is a time unify for the sake of the people of Pakistan. The least politicians can do right now is to support the common people. In an ideal world, the best-case scenario would be that all those in need would have received financial and emotional support. But let us get real. That is so not the case. At least give people something that they can look up to. Something that they can relate to. Guide them in facing this crisis.
Our health workers, people who are working day and night in these tough times are being seriously unappreciated. All the front-line workers who are helping and offering their services in any sort of way to deal with the crisis should be appreciated, for that their jobs are not easy at all.
Lastly, we just have come to terms with this situation. We have got to learn how to live with covid for now. That includes taking precautions and following all guidelines give to us. We have to support each other in these times, look out for each other and just ACT RESPONSIBLY.