The National Command Operation Centre fears that with the inception of the winter season, the fifth wave of the Coronavirus may also set in here in Pakistan. The earlier record shows that the ebbing rates of the virus in the summer gradually show upward trends with the advent of the winter. Moreover, the virus is showing a sign comeback in China, Russia and certain states of the US with new variants. The fight is ongoing. China was among the pioneer nations which successfully contained the Coronavirus despite the fact that Coronavirus, which rattled the world, originated in China in 2019. Although China set the rules and science of how to contain it as early on as possible, the virus still spread all across the world. The pandemic led to the closure of the world. The Chinese government was able to handle the situation as it started working on the production of a vaccine quite early on. In eight months or so, Wuhan, where the virus originated, came back to its normal state. However, this was only possible due to China’s no tolerance policy against the virus. Everyone was compelled to get vaccinated and therefore, the situation came under control at the earliest. However, now as the world is trying to come back to normalcy, there are still new cases sprouting every now and then in China. If they are not taken care of immediately, China could once again face a similar situation to what it had to face early in 2020.
China is supposed to hold the Winter Olympics this winter season and it cannot afford to make a blunder due to the virus rate before the international event. Therefore, they are keeping close track of all those who might be the reason for spreading the virus. No one is allowed to be unvaccinated and all those who contract the virus are supposed to be treated immediately. Moreover, for a long while, the country kept incoming and outgoing flights closed so that the situation does not get worse than it already is.
Pakistan must also be cautious of what is to come in the winter season. Though the positivity rate is drastically down to one to two percent on most days of the week, it must be realised that the virus has not been eradicated completely and still most of the population has not been vaccinated against the virus. The government must still keep a close eye on the cases and keep using the smart lockdown policy to keep the virus at bay. This is especially necessary for Pakistan as the incoming winter season does not only bring joy but also distresses with itself. Other than the coronavirus, most of Punjab is also dealing with dengue fever and smog, both of which have made people’s lives miserable. Therefore, the government must still push people towards getting vaccinated and following SOPs. Though Pakistan has achieved 103 million marks of the vaccination, this is far from the desired goal. A very few districts have achieved the minimum vaccination figures. It is heartening to see that the Punjab government has started a vaccination campaign to reach every doorstep to vaccinate the unvaccinated. The masks and sanitizers must not come off in public places until the virus is completely eradicated. Lastly, the government should monitor all incoming flights and passengers so that new strains are not spread in the country.
