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ARTICLE: On a hot humid day in Islamabad, this writer entered a cool air-conditioned building of the National Command Operation Centre where journalists were invited to attend a briefing on the current spread of the coronavirus in Pakistan. Prime Minister's Special Assistant for Health Dr Zafar Mirza, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar stood in a long board room talking to journalists. We were asked to seat ourselves at a long table with neatly lined up laser pens and bottles of water. Screens with information on data related to the Covid-19 virus across Pakistan flashed on either end of the room. Asad Umar who leads the NCOC, sat authoritatively at the head of the table, while Dr Zafar Mirza and the Prime Minister's focal person on Covid-19 Dr Faisal Sultan sat on either side of him and men in military uniforms dotted the room. A large poster saying "100 days of a nation's resolve, humility in efforts" stared at us from the door of this large room.

The briefing began with a documentary where the orator congratulated the government and the NCOC for an efficient handling of the pandemic. The documentary featured Asad Umar thanking health workers and then praised the government for the Ehsaas programme, the smart lockdown and for ensuring that citizens in Pakistan wore a mask. Amongst the Prime Minister and the Army Chief, Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation, Kazim Hussain Jatoi the health secretary Sindh, Shandana Khan of the Rural Support Programme were amongst those featured, highlighting various successes of the PTI government in steering the country through this pandemic. The documentary depicted online classes as a success story and it ended with a military official handing a bag of ration to a poor woman.

Right after the documentary Brigadier Kamran spelled out the achievements of the NCOC on completion of its 100 days. Brigadier Kamran claimed that Pakistan can test up to 50,000 people a day. He claimed that 300,000 people were saved from being infected through contact tracing, a process which identifies, assesses, and manages people who have been exposed to Covid-19 to prevent onward transmission. Brigadier Kamran also said that so far 100,000 Pakistanis abroad have been repatriated since the lockdown was imposed. At the end of his presentation Brigadier Kamran admitted that cases can multiply over the upcoming Eidul Azha and Muharram holidays, causing another spike in coronavirus cases.

Journalists asked Dr Zafar Mirza of a recent statement he made on a show "Spotlight" of Aaj TV where he claimed that humidity and the monsoons will reduce the spread of coronavirus. Before Dr Mirza had a chance to respond, Asad Umar sharply retorted, "I wish Dr Mirza had not made that statement in public. He really should not have said that," he curtly added, while Dr Mirza maintained a dignified silence. Umar then picked up the laser pen and pointed at the graph and said that positive cases and deaths have been far lower than what doctors and experts had anticipated. He said that he is satisfied with the way things are progressing and that the PTI's policies have managed to stabilise the situation and saved it from getting worse.

Dr Mirza said though the government had the capacity to test 50,000 people a day, people were reluctant to get tested and since the government had changed its policy of testing passengers coming into Pakistan, tests conducted for Covid-19 had decreased. In the last 24 hours, 24,577 tests were carried out across Pakistan, with Sindh taking the lead with 12,479 tests and Punjab testing 7,116 people.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the vaccination drive for polio had been affected. Pakistan had almost eradicated polio, but just in the last 10 days 2 polio cases were reported from Balochistan, while KP has also reported a re-emergence of polio cases. Dr Mirza admitted that polio vaccination campaign had suffered and said that the government would start its polio campaign again beginning from the 20th of July.

While being questioned about the government's strategy for opening up restaurants and educational institutions, Umar said that it is unlikely that they will be allowed to open before Eidul Azha. He said that Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood will hold a meeting with management of schools on 8th of July and important decisions will be taken after consulting them. Umar revealed that the NCOC has yet to devise a comprehensive policy for opening up sectors closed after the pandemic broke out and the strategy to open up will depend on the evolving situation and nature of the novel coronavirus.

Dr Faisal Sultan promised journalists that they will not be wearing masks two years from now and hinted that by then nations would have developed a natural immunity to the virus or found a vaccine.

While the military and civilian leadership repeatedly praised themselves for handling the coronavirus pandemic well, the looming danger posed by the upcoming Muharram and Eid holidays will be a big threat. Though the government has planned for implementing smart lockdowns and SOPs during those holidays, it seems that neither the military nor the civilian leadership is eager to impose a nation-wide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. If the smart lockdowns and SOPs for cattle markets and Muharram work, we have dodged a bullet, otherwise we should brace ourselves for another rise in Covid-19 cases, which could break an already creaking health system.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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