Happy, happy days are here again, especially for those longing for a pre-pandemic life. After weeks of keeping a close watch on the positivity curve, the NCOC has finally decided that it is now time to scrap almost all covid-related restrictions, except for vaccine compliance. With cases and hospitalisations fantastically falling to the lowest since the start of the year, the high command deserves a huge round of applause for doing the unthinkable.
\nYes, there can be no surety of how long this hopeful chapter would stay (considering the already dismal numbers from countries like the US and the UK) but that Pakistan was able to put this strong of a fight, despite its meagre finances and a crippled healthcare system, is a commendable feat on its own. The challenge was all the more daunting given our widespread notoriety for indifference to safety protocols on top of a routine dash of conspiracy theories (infertility threat; 5G chip conundrum; Western designs to control Pakistani en masse, so on and so forth). Yet, the state prevailed and tried as much as it could to juggle the lives of its people with their livelihoods.
\nNo stone was left unturned to set off blaring alarms amid bizarre scenes that saw security agencies resorting to physical measures to ensure social distancing among other isolation measures. This is not to say that the virus is showing signs of a retreat, and more importantly, the excitement to cross the last benchmark should not come as a sign of complacency. We can neither close our eyes nor cover our ears nor seal our lips. At the expense of sounding boringly repetitive, rigorous testing remains our only ivory tower.
\nContinuing to invest in public awareness campaigns that focus on good ventilation and common sense to avoid those infected cannot be similarly stressed enough. The last three years have seen a large number of us live through chronic fears. No more sacrifices. No more nightmares. Not for a day more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Happy, happy days are here again, especially for those longing for a pre-pandemic life. After weeks of keeping a close watch on the positivity curve, the NCOC has finally decided that it is now time to scrap almost all covid-related restrictions, except for vaccine compliance. With cases and hospitalisations fantastically falling to the lowest since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5230],"class_list":{"0":"post-250785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial","7":"tag-next-phase"},"yoast_head":"\n