Covid-19 has wreaked havoc every nook and corner of the world. Italy, Spain, UK, the USA which have the world better health system, are struggling to contain the virus. Pakistan is also not at bay from it. From each passing day the number of infected is increasing, the number can be staggering because till now Pakistan has very low testing rate as compared to other developed countries. China- the epicenter of epidemic, is the only country which got the better of the virus, given the blanket lockdown and responsibility shown by its citizens, On the contrary all other countries are desperate to “flatten the curve”. In this state of affairs, Chitral was the only district in KP, which was immune of it.
Chitral is a far-flung and backward valley having broken health infrastructure .Chitral did not report confirm case of corona virus for almost one month after the country report its first case on March 19.
However, as ill-luck would have it, two days ago it came to surface that a person having affiliation with Islamic proselytizing group surreptitiously embarking on vegetable vehicle reached chitral, did not quarantine himself due to the negligence of the officialdom, later took to the quarantine Centre after showing symptoms and eventually became the first confirm case of corona virus (SARS 2 COVID 19).
It is feared that the virus may not disseminate and contract his cohort, as the infected person before taking to quarantine Centre intermingled with other people. After this untoward incident three more confirmed cases are announced by the honorable D.C of lower Chitral. As a corollary, it is likely that Chitral is on the verge of COVID19 pandemic.
The health system of Pakistan in general and Chitral in particular is very weak, lacking state-of –the- art hospitals and basic amenities of health. If may God forbid things spiral out of control, the health system of Chitral will be at the receiving end and can’t sustain the ramification of the pandemic.
At this critical juncture, I want to delineate some seminal issues regarding the outbreak of the virus and urge the District administration of Chitral to pay heed to the issues, otherwise the current situation would prove to be the tip of the ice-berg.
The news is viral in the social media and a privy to me reported that myriad of peoples coming to Chitral from plain areas of the country don’t quarantine themselves after circumventing the police and other concerned authorities. Some venerable citizens and people hailing from the officialdom bring it to the fore that some people ingresses after offering bribes to the authorities and some even using their influences and good terms with the highest echelon. It is a great disservice to the residents of chitral from their vanguards. Eventually, there is an ample chance that the valley is not very far away from this spectre and might be at the brink of a precipice.
Every epidemiologist puts it, there is no researched vaccine available to cater this menace. If we take a leaf from the China’s book, the only way to get rid of this virus is lockdown and self-isolation. As for as chitral is concerned, apart from this, proper surveillance of its residents entering it speaks volume .one infected person entering Chitral from plain areas of the country can contract it to hundreds, given the joint family system and other living social standards of the area.
It is unfair to preclude its residents to returns to their homes , notwithstanding there should be modus operandi for such people who are acting in contravention to law and norms and become disloyal to their companions. Deputy commissioner as a supremo should monitored the entry points of the valley and ensure the checking of vegetable vehicles and tankers from which people clandestinely enter the area and bring to book those state servants who act in collusion with such people. Apart from this “blanket lockdown” of the valley for another two weeks is the sine quo non to avert the crisis. “Smart lockdown” in this situation is akin to the proverbial burying our head in the sand.
As mentioned earlier, there is no proposed medication for it, the only weapon propitious in this regard is Quarantine Centre. Nevertheless, in the case of Chitral, it is a thousand pity that the situation in these centers is very abysmal. Specially, the quarantine Centre of DROSH-CHITRAL is devoid of basic necessities. Rooms are not capacious, slew of people are compelled to dwell in one room, which an antipode to the very demand of the crisis –social is distancing. So, there are many reasons to believe that one infected person would sprawl it. As a result suspected try to flee it. Legal experts say, many people in the Centre contacted them to set the law in to motion, as their fundamental right is infringed which is guaranteed in the article of the constitution. Political and nonpolitical executive of chitral should visit the quarantine centers and address the concerns of suspected living there, it should be as early as possible otherwise things will get out of control.
Last but not the least, health facilities available in the hospitals of chitral is very minimal. Even in normal circumstances patients have to travel very far away to Peshawar due to the scarcity of testing system in the District hospital. It is paramount to ensure the basic health facilities in these extra ordinary circumstances, in later stage there would be avalanche of patients rushing towards the hospital and the infrastructure health system of chitral may not sustain it. It will burden the tertiary care hospitals –KTH, LRH, and HMC of the province, which would be already under pressure to tackle the crisis. In-addition, Doctors of chitral who are front liner in the battle should be provided personal protection equipment PPE- mask N95, kits and testing facility, because to emphasize I will say, in these circumstances, the life of our messiah is very precious than any other things.
Tanzeel UR Rahman
Lawyer based in Chitral.
