Corona Pandemic in Pakistan

Introduction

Symptoms of COVID-19

Coronavirus in Pakistan

Suggestions/How to prevent this disease?

Introduction
Coronavirus are actually a large family of viruses that cause the following types of illness.
 Common cold
 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)
 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV)
In late 2019, a new (or novel) coronavirus that has not been seen previously in humans was
identified as the cause of human illness. It was given the name2019-nCoV’. Later on, World Health
Organization (WHO), in a press release February 11, 2020, named this rapidly spreading disease as
COVID-19. This acronym was formed “Corona Virus Disease 2019”.
This virus was first identified in December 2019 in a chinese city, named Wuhan. After that, it began to
spread very quickly in different countries. China, India, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Italy, USA, Uk and
Mexico were among the most-effected countries. This virus has caused a large number of deaths across
the world and the game is not over yet. The pandemic is still ongoing. As of February 05, 2021, there
have been 2,265,354 deaths caused by the coronavirus reported to WHO. World Health Organization
has declared the outbreak of COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of international Concerns.
Symptoms of COVID-19
Fever, cough and difficulty in breathing are the common signs of COVID-19. Apart from this, fatigue,
sore throat, loss of smell, muscle pain and abdominal pain are also observed in the patients infected by
COVID-19. In more severe cases, this infection can cause pneumonia, kidney failure and even death.
Coronavirus is Pakistan
Coronavirus was reported to reach Pakistan on February 26, 2020 when two cases (one in Islamabad
and the other in Karachi) were recorded. Soon, new cases began to get registered in other provinces as
well. June15, 2020 was the most horrible day for the Pakistan when 6825 new cases were recorded in
just 24 hours.
The Government of Pakistan took rigorous measures like setting up of special hospitals, laboratories
for testing, quarantine facilities, awareness campaign and the strict implementation of lockdown SOPs
to control the spread of virus. All international flights were suspended and borders were shut down.
Schools and universities were closed. A ban was imposed on public gatherings.
Due to these timely steps, the number of daily cases and percentage of people testing positive started to
decline. As of February 05 2021, there have been 11,886 deaths caused by the coronavirus in Pakistan.
Due to the strict lockdown throughout the country, many businesses and industries were closed and
this caused an increase in the unemployment and poverty rate in Pakistan. Almost 20 million people
became jobless due to pandemic. The Government announced an economic relief package for the
unemployed daily wage workers and healthcare professionals. Besides this, a number of generous and
humanitarian people and organizations also came forward to rescue the nation from this widespread
crisis.
 Corona Pandemic in Pakistan
At present, Pakistan is at the 8th position regard to the highest number of confirmed cases in Aisa
and at the 28th position with regard to the highest number of confirmed cases in the world. Karachi,
Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar are the most-affected cities that make up nearly 55% of the country’s
total confirmed cases.

Any certified or proper treatment for this disease has not been discovered yet. However, good news is
that, a vaccine for this virus has now been developed and all the governments are taking urgent steps to
vaccinate their people as early as possible. But as you now, the vaccines work very slowly. Therefore, we
have to continue our preventive efforts for some more years in order to completely get rid of this virus.
Suggestions/How to prevent this disease?
We can prevent this infection by practicing a good hygiene, regularly washing our hands with soap or
sanitizers and maintaining a social distance of at least one meter especially from the people showing
symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
We should also avoid touching our mouth, nose and eyes with unclean hands.
It is believed that people with good immunity can fight back this disease. So, we should also try to
improve our immunity by taking a balanced and vitamin rich diet.
In the end, it is very necessary for all of us to come out of this pandemic as soon as possible. This can
only be done by collective efforts. We must co-operate with our governments and follow the SOP’s. The
day is not far when things will be normal again.