Health experts sound alarm as Pakistan further eases lockdown

Commuters are seen in a traffic jam on a street after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Karachi on May 18, 2020. (AFP)

• Infrastructure, facilities insufficient; not the right time to lift restrictions, medical body chief says
• Traders demand permission to run round-the-clock operations ahead of Eid

KARACHI: Health experts on Monday warned of “dire consequences” as Pakistan moves to further ease its coronavirus lockdown restrictions, with several calling for a review and strict enforcement of the anti-virus measures.
“It is not the right time to ease the lockdown. We have repeatedly appealed to the government to review the decision because the existing health infrastructure is not enough to support any major fallout,” Professor Muhammad Afzal Mian, President of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), told Arab News.
It follows Pakistan’s decision to allow public transport services, shopping malls and auto manufacturing businesses to resume operations, particularly in the most populous Punjab province, to reboot the economy.
On Monday, the restrictions were set to be further relaxed in all provinces, except Sindh, which has reported 16,377 infections thus far.
Punjab has reported 15,346 infections, while the total number of confirmed cases stood at 40,288 with 903 deaths reported as of Monday.
“It is the time of a rise [in the number of infections], and relaxation is mostly given when the virus achieves a plateau or starts declining. Its impact, as anticipated, would be devastating,” PIMA chief said, adding that Pakistan is expecting the COVID-19 outbreak to peak by the end of June or early July.
Meanwhile, traders and industrialists continued to mount pressure on the government to allow them to resume round-the-clock operations, for seven days a week, ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr which is expected to fall on this weekend. 
On Sunday, the federal government declared public holidays for Eid from May 22-27, “which means only four days will be available for Eid shopping this week,” traders said.
“Government should review the holiday notification and must allow the continuation of businesses 24 hours till the eve of Eid. There is no viable solution to control the rush,” Kashif Chaudhry, President of Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajran Pakistan, a central organization of traders, told Arab News.
He added that if the government failed to do so, circumstances are such that desperate traders could resume operations “in violation of government instructions and the absence of a uniform national policy.” 
“From the first day of the lockdown, the confusion persists. There is no clear vision as center shifts responsibility onto provinces and provinces are looking at the center,” he said.
During a late-night meeting between traders and government officials at the office of Commissioner Karachi on Sunday, it was decided that shops that had been sealed by the authorities for violating the Standard Operating Procedures last week, will be allowed to reopen.
“The authorities have refused to allow the opening of malls on the paradigm of Punjab in Karachi. They were also indecisive about the time relaxation,” Mehmood Hamid, president of All-Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industries, told Arab News after attending the meeting.
Traders also complained of poor sales’ volumes, predicting the lowest revenue generation this year due to the coronavirus lockdown.
“We estimate that Eid shopping would generate around Rs 10-15 billion as compared to Rs 35 billion which was recorded last year in Karachi,” Atiq Mir, Chairman of Karachi Tajir Itehad, an alliance of Karachi’s market associations, told Arab News.
Chaudhry added that while the past four days of business activities – after the lockdown was eased across the country – triggered massive sales, it is nothing compared to previous records.
“We estimate that around Rs 2-2.5 billion worth of revenue was generated in Rawalpindi/Islamabad while business activities worth Rs 5-6 billion in Karachi and Lahore each was estimated,” he said.
Health experts warned that the eased restrictions could become a catalyst for an uptick in infections with “the outcome of this decision expected within the next couple of weeks.”
“The lockdown eased last week and the rush we saw in markets... we expect that after eight to ten days, the result will emerge because it takes that much time to show symptoms,” Dr. S.M Qaiser Sajjad, Secretary-General, Pakistan Medical Association, told Arab News.
He blamed it on a large section of society living in “denial mode.”
“A segment of the society still believes that the coronavirus does not exist. This is a very dangerous approach, and we have to take them out of this denial mode,” he said, adding that 1,200 doctors and medics have already contracted the virus which has killed 15 in total.
PIMA chief Afzal Mian called for the government to reverse its decision and counter the “war-like situation” by taking the numbers and consequences into account.
“Heavens are not going to fall if people sacrifice Eid shopping or forego economic activity because it is a war-like situation,” he said.