More than anything else it was sober symbolism of the visit that gave it meaning. President Arif Alvi went on a three-day trip to China - March 16 to 18 - accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar and some other senior officials to show Pakistan's solidarity with its 'iron brother' in the wake of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. Before embarking on the visit, all members of the delegation got themselves tested for the virus, and then again in China before return home. On Wednesday, the Chinese authorities informed the Foreign Office that all of them had cleared the virus test. Indeed, China has effectively contained and almost stopped the spread of this deadly virus taking strict measures, duly endorsed by the World Health Organisation. Even Wuhan, the original epicenter of the virus outbreak, has begun to resume normal commercial activities.
Pakistan had acted wisely when heeding the advice of Chinese authorities it decided, despite severe criticism from some opposition senators and others, not to bring back its students caught in Wuhan and other cities. They have all survived, thanks to the host government's protective measures and medical expertise to treat the two Pakistanis who were infected. Nonetheless, Covid-19 did land in this country, mostly via pilgrims returning from Iran and also some European and Gulf states. With over 450 persons infected and three deaths at present it is a matter of days before the curve on Covid-19 transmission rises exponentially unless drastic steps are taken to stop its spread. Where countries with some of the best medical systems have failed, such as Italy and Spain, to cope and even the US and the UK are struggling to deal with it, there is little that can be expected in this country by way of testing and treatment facilities. In fact, recognising as much in his address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke of a trade-off between letting people in this resource poor country to starve or get infected with chances of 97 percent recovery, deciding to take the latter course. This means millions of people are at risk of dying from it.
If this government can learn any lesson from the experience of others, it is better to be cautious than sorry. Pakistan may have a faltering economy, but rather than to wait for the coronavirus curve to peak, and cause more harm to economic activity, ultimately like some other countries imposing complete shutdown after initial resistance it may have to resort to the same solution. It also needs to improve conditions in the quarantine facilities set up for the returnees from Iran and also consider stopping passenger traffic from other countries. As the Sindh Chief Minister has rightly been pointing out, had proper arrangements been made to separate people in the Taftan quarantine camp, the infection would not have travelled to other parts of the country. It is hoped due attention is being given to this aspect of the problem in the new quarantine facilities established in different cities of Punjab and KP. No less worrying are reports that medical staff attending to patients in isolation wards have not been provided with requisite protective kits. China is said to have sent some kits, but clearly they are not enough. The government has announced having placed orders for the purchase of medical kits and ventilators for the treatment of potential patients. And provincial governments have restricted public gatherings. All this is important. But greater attention needs to be focused on containing the spread of this deadly virus.