A government-appointed committee has said the Covid-19 outbreak may peak in the weeks around the Eid-ul-Fitr. It has forecasted that Covid-19 infection cases may cross the 50,000 mark by this time. A reliable prediction however would be possible if there had been more testing along with stricter coronavirus restrictions. In a report submitted to the Directorate General of Health Services last week, the experts’ committee said the outbreak might peak in the third or fourth week of May and the situation would remain unchanged until first week of June. Unless the restrictions are relaxed too early the number of new cases may come down to a “tolerable level” by the end of June. The committee recommended for lifting restrictions after June 25. By the end of June, when the situation becomes tolerable, there will still be new cases. If we want to shorten peak period, we must follow restrictions and implement the intervention levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. Meanwhile independent experts called for increasing the number of tests to at least 20,000 a day in order to assess the actual situation. Besides, they called for no further lifting of the coronavirus restrictions.
The predictions would have been more reliable if there were more testing. Unfortunately, hundreds of garment factories started reopening across the country late last month although the number of new cases has been on the rise. Besides, the government has already lifted restrictions on people’s gathering at mosques and shopping malls. Many other businesses reopened on a limited scale yesterday. Before testing sufficient suspects daily, it’s not possible to give a prediction. We don’t understand why the government is allowing reopening of shopping malls and other businesses that goes directly against the recommendations of experts’ committee. Many high-profile corona patients, including an Additional Secretary, have recently died helplessly on the streets or in the ambulance getting no treatment in the hospitals. It proves again how poor and disorganised our health sector is. On contrary, the government is taking such controversial decisions for which the pandemic may not be contained and may spread more widely.
On the top of all these limitations, it is hopeless that the government has also no preparation for getting international help and cooperation. The guidance the government is receiving from its own people is how to suppress discussions and worries of the people for the image of the government.
