CORONA PANDEMIC IN PAKISTAN
An Essay for Students of Matric & Intermediate F.A. / F.Sc.
Coronaviruses are actually a large family of viruses that cause the following types of illness.
Common cold
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV)
In late 2019, a new (or novel) coronavirus that has not been seen previously in humans was identified as the cause of human illness. It was given the name ‘2019-CoVid’. Later on, World Health Organization (WHO), in a press release on February 11, 2020, named this rapidly spreading disease as ‘COVID-19’. This acronym was formed from ‘Corona Virus Disease 2019’.
This virus was first identified in December 2019 in a Chinese city, named Wuhan. After that, it began to spread very quickly in different countries. China, India, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Italy, the USA, UK, and Mexico were among the most affected countries. This virus has caused a large number of deaths across the world and the game is not over yet. The pandemic is still ongoing. As of February 05, 2021, there have been 2,265,354 deaths caused by the coronavirus reported to WHO. World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concerns.
Symptoms of COVID-19
Fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing are the common signs of COVID-19. Apart from this, fatigue, sore throat, loss of smell, muscle pain, and abdominal pain are also observed in the patients infected by COVID-19. In more severe cases, this infection can cause pneumonia, kidney failure, and even death.
Coronavirus in Pakistan
Coronavirus was reported to reach Pakistan on February 26, 2020, when two cases (one in Islamabad and the other in Karachi) were recorded. Soon, new cases began to get registered in other provinces as well. June 15, 2020, was the most horrible day for the Pakistanis when 6825 new cases were recorded in just 24 hours.
The Government of Pakistan took rigorous measures like setting up special hospitals, laboratories for testing, quarantine facilities, awareness campaign, and the strict implementation of lockdown SOPs to control the spread of the virus. All international flights were suspended and borders were shut down. Schools and universities were closed.
A ban was imposed on public gatherings. Due to these timely steps, the number of daily cases and the percentage of people testing positive started to decline. As of February 05, 2021, there have been 11, 886 deaths caused by the coronavirus in Pakistan.
Due to the strict lockdown throughout the country, many businesses and industries were closed and this caused an increase in the unemployment and poverty rate in Pakistan. Almost 20 million people became jobless due to pandemics. The Government announced an economic relief package for the unemployed daily wage workers and healthcare professionals. Besides this, a number of generous and humanitarian people and organizations also came forward to rescue the nation from this widespread crisis.
At present, Pakistan is at the 8th position with regard to the highest number of confirmed cases in Asia and at the 28th position with regard to the highest number of confirmed cases in the world. Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar are the most- affected cities that make up nearly 55% of the country's total confirmed cases.
Any certified or proper treatment for this disease has not been discovered yet. However, the good news is that a vaccine for this virus has now been developed and all the governments are taking urgent steps to vaccinate their people as early as possible. But as you know, the vaccines work very slowly. Therefore, we have to continue our preventive efforts for some more years in order to completely get rid of this virus.
Suggestions / How to prevent this disease?
We can prevent this infection by practicing good hygiene, regularly washing our hands with soap or sanitizers, and maintaining a social distance of at least one meter especially from the people showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
We generate droplets during breathing, coughing, and sneezing. And these droplets can carry a virus from one person to another. Therefore, wearing a mask in public gatherings is a way to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
We should also avoid touching our mouth, nose, and eyes with unclean hands.
It is believed that people with good immunity can fight back this disease. So, we should also try to improve our immunity by taking a balanced and vitamin-rich diet.
In the end, it is very necessary for all of us to come out of this pandemic as soon as possible. This can only be done by collective efforts. We must co-operate with our governments and follow the SOPs. The day is not far when things will be normal again. Insha-Allah.
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