We are living in a world facing a strange kind of seemingly unstoppable challenge – some would say it’s very much a biological warfare from the pages of a fiction book.
The coronavirus has no boundaries and has spread beyond the borders. It’s in the air we breathe. It knows no race, no religion, no sect as well as country. The world is wondering if we can stop the spread of the unleashed beast or meet a fate like Spanish influenza that killed millions in early part of the 20th century.
As Pakistani-American, two questions jolt my mind. They might sound simple but look complex in the face of growing anxieties and concerns. Is Pakistan, a developing country, ready to fight coronavirus since it lacks healthcare facilities? I also think if the United States, well-equipped to deal with the outbreak of the virus but showing a widespread nervousness, as seen in the fall of stock market, could do well to curb its spread.
Officially, Pakistan has reported two cases have been reported in the country, and patients are being treated according to the established clinical standards, government healthcare sources maintain as death toll from virus jumps to 43, heightening fears among neighboring countries.
Pakistan has sealed its border with Afghanistan and closed schools in Balochistan, the southwestern province bordering Iran. In the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia have reportedly stopped Friday prayer gatherings at places. As an unprecedented precautionary measure, Riyadh has temporarily banned foreign pilgrims from entering the country for Umrah and visit to Mecca, the city of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him.
Around the world, people are taking steps – considered unthinkable in peacetime – like Japan, a highly developed country, and Iraq, a conflict-hit state, have closed down schools. China, the origin of the deadly virus, and Hong Kong have already done so.
Fear seems to be taking over the world, although World Health Organization has said COVID-19 – the coronavirus disease – is not a pandemic yet.
Australia is not allowing in Chinese visitors on its territory. In Europe, Italy, the worst affected country, has quarantined 11 towns and Greece has called off carnivals. Residents in large cities are particularly worried about what might happen if thousands of people contract the disease.
Several U.S. airlines have stopped flights into China – a big destination for American businesses and a key trading partner, raising fears of economic impact of on the two largest economies.
In Pakistan, a coronavirus spread would pile up on the infinite challenges on social, economic, education, political and financial levels.
As far as, fighting the COVID-19 hygiene, social practices, the medical infrastructure, the government policies and response from the public, there lies a big question mark. Are Pakistanis really readying themselves to dealt with an outbreak?
The Imran Khan Government has taken some measures in order to keep the virus at a minimum by educating the public via social media with regards to the awareness and the prevention remedies. Although, keeping public order in mind, the government is trying its best not to bring up issue at large, due to several other challenging social factors such as underdeveloped and mal-equipped national health services and institutions.
Most of the health services and institution only exist on paper, especially outside of major cities and towns. The public could possibly go against the government which is already facing a lot of fiscal pressures and most discussed issues at different levels, especially in social media are around economic problems.
A severe lack of appropriate equipment i.e. protective gears, masks, instant response to the emergency for emergent cases and support from the medical staff are the current challenges of the Pakistan’s public healthcare system.
The public is dealing with it differently. At grassroots level, some are completely oblivious of hygiene. Hence, it is a nerve-wracking and extensive task to educate the people in areas left undeveloped. So, for them normal seasonal fever and coronavirus is the same. For The blessed and elite, it is a different story.
On the economic side, pharmaceutical companies, the traders and the suppliers are taking full advantage of making money and earning profits by finding an opportunity as they perceive it as their right to do so, especially in the absence of government facilities.
A prime example is a jump in the price of an ordinary surgical face mask from Pakistani Rupees 50 to 400.
In contrast, countries like China, France, Singapore and some European countries, where wearing a mask is essential, governments provide it cost-free.
Then there is corruption in the public health system and hospitals, which compound problems of ordinary problems. In the U.S. corporations have built systems but they too put a high price on average Americans and in the absence of large numbers of people without health coverage, the virus outbreak could be a big political issue.
Some people in Pakistan are also suggesting traditional ways of dealing with coronavirus like making onions regular part of meals, eating fruits like oranges that are rich in vitamin as well as using spices to fight off the disease.
Besides, the medical advances we have now and traditional wisdom, we need to be using commonsense practices to guard against coronavirus spread. Let me share a fact commonly ignored with regard to fight against the virus – a majority of infected people stand a good chance of recovery.
A Pakistani expert Dr Bushra Jamil, who is a professor of infectious diseases at the Agha Khan University in the port city of Karachi, explained this in an interview.
“All these deaths that one reads about daily does not mean the virus is lethal as the mortality from the disease is just between 2pc to 4pc, and spreads through sneezing and coughing,” she explained according to a Dawn newspaper article. “The denominator is important. If 70,000 people are infected, 2,000 may die,” she added.
That seems to be the case in China, where in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, where it infected a large number of people, several have survived.
So, a commonsense practice like washing hands regularly, avoiding exposure to sneezing, ensuring medical supplies and government’s working out a strategic response may help contain the virus. This seems to be our best defense against the virus offense.
