Doctors demand tighter lockdown

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

Senior medical practitioners representing health providers in both the public and private sectors, on April 22, expressed their dismay over what they said a loose enforcement of lockdown restrictions aimed at containment of COVID-19 spread across the province.

They warned that the lethal virus was all set to enter its dangerous phase due to the myths that ‘the virus is not going to affect us, we are the chosen ones and we don’t have severe cases as compared to other parts of the world.’ 

Addressing a joint press conference at the Karachi Press Club Dr Saad K Niaz, Dr Abdul Bari Khan, Dr S M Qaiser Sajjad, Dr Atif Hafeez and others said that only a tighter lockdown can have strong detrimental effects on the spread of coronavirus in the country. 

They also disliked the decisions related to congregational prayers, including taraveeh prayers, which the government and ulema reached recently.

Pointing out that a 40% rise had been observed in a mere five days, they candidly expressed that the available infrastructures and manpower in the health sector were not going to help if the diseases crisis mounted further. 

The media was told that the dedicated intensive care units for coronavirus patients in various hospitals in Karachi were nearly full to capacity. “The country did not have enough health professionals to fight the disease, while those who are battling at the frontline were also disheartened by the situation.” 

They further mentioned that 162 members of the medical community, along with hundreds of citizens including women and children had been infected in Sindh courtesy the non-serious attitude of the government. 

The leaders of physicians demanded a stricter lockdown, which, according to them, was the only viable way to check the onslaught of the diseases in the country. 

“We neither have any cure at present nor capacity to fight this disease. The only way to save lives is to slowdown the number of cases by implementing social distancing principles and reduced movement of people,” they concluded.