Protect Yourself, Protect ‘PAKISTAN Article by Nasiha Sarwar

Protect Yourself, Protect ‘PAKISTAN’

Hafiza Nasiha Sarwar

It’s just sad to see that people in Pakistan are still taking COVID-19 just as casually as any other thing. I get it we love to troll, we are the absolute best at sarcasm. We have dealt with so much, what can Corona do to us? Well let me tell you this, it can do a lot to you. If you are young and healthy, may be not to you but to your parents and grandparents. Not everything is a joke. Schools shutting down, weddings being called off, all this isn’t fun, this isn’t an MQM strike where you can just say ‘Dekha Jayega”, it’s a far-reaching matter. I really just want people to stop telling me, Pakistan mai itna nai hai. Pakistan mai hai, it’s just not being reported enough or detected enough because people are dying anyway. So, this might just be another thing that’s going undetected.

Here are a few things that you can do:

1. Limit house help, tell your maids to take paid leaves, they’re the biggest carriers right now. If you know any of your house help fighting the virus, help them out financially if nothing!

2. Stop taking these days off as a time to go out with friends or family etc.

3. Start cooking at home, no take outs, No dine ins. Please understand that any of person working in the kitchen might be infected without even knowing.

4. Pakistan is still a country where money exchanges hands, if you’re exchanging money then wear gloves and leave those bank notes in a separate drawer for a couple of days because the virus cannot survive for longer than 96 hours if not transferred to a human body.

5. If you share your car with anyone, make sure that you wipe the seat and the steering wheel before you drive.

6. Avoid large gatherings or unnecessary get togethers. You might have an upcoming dholki or majlis, milad, konday, whatever it may be, cancel them. Right now it’s a sin to put your lives and lives of others at risk.

7. Do not cache, Pakistan lacks the capacity to increase production at an extreme rate, just buy enough to sustain yourself for a few weeks, not for several months.

8. Social distancing is excessively hard in Pakistan, I get it, but it’s easier than dying to a disease with no cure. Stay away from people.

9. Do not be shy in telling people that you won’t shake hands or hug if it’s absolutely necessary for you to meet up.

10. Use of hand sanitizer is compulsory in these days. So, please use it.

11. Dispose off your tissues, wash your hands and keep a sanitizer on you at all times.

12. If you are at a position where you can do some decision making for your employees then give them paid time off. It’s exceptional for everyone.

13. Stop travelling, really just stop it. You may have two months off but that’s for a reason. Do not carry the disease from one place to another.

Please Please Please… take care of yourself and those around you. This virus has an exponential growth, STOP expecting the government to do anything, they are doing whatever best they can, but it’s our responsibility to stop the spread and protect ourselves and those around us.