This is apropos a Business Recorder news items "Coronavirus panic sends global stocks tumbling" and "WHO raises global risk from 'high' to 'very high'" carried by the newspaper yesterday. It is therefore a matter of deep concern that coronavirus panic has sent world stock markets tumbling again, "putting them on course for their largest weekly fall since the 2008 global financial crisis, with over $ 5 trillion wiped from global market value so far this week."

That the situation is profoundly profound.

Insofar as Pakistan is concerned, two positive cases have been confirmed. The situation underscores the need for our health authorities to take all appropriate steps aimed at forestalling coronavirus outbreak in a nation of over 200 million people. In this regard, the Sindh government deserves a lot of praise for quickly reacting to the situation by unveiling its plan to locate and quarantine people who have recently visited Iran. I don't know whether the other provincial governments have similar plans to deal with the situation.