Health experts accuse both the government and the opposition of “politicising” the Covid-19 pandemic, which they say has created a “widespread confusion” among the general public about the disease.

“The government and the opposition have politicised a pure health issue, sending conflicting messages to the general public about the disease,” Dr Rana Jawad Asghar, an Islamabad-based epidemiologist told Anadolu Agency.

Their conflicting messages, he observed, have brought the masses to a point where they pay no heed to health experts’ advice and warnings. Many believe the disease does not even exist, he noted.

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“I cannot blame the public alone. When they see their leaders inviting the public to the rallies, not wearing masks, and blaming each other for the spread of the disease, why would they listen to the health experts?” Asghar, an adjunct professor of epidemiology at the University of Nebraska in the US, said, referring to recent opposition and government rallies and huge public meetings held across the country.

Citing the example of US President Donald Trump, who has time and again downplayed health experts’ warnings regarding the spread of the virus, he said Pakistani politicians are practically “doing the same thing”.

“They must stop using the disease to settle their political score,” he said.

Seconding Asghar’s view, Dr Qaisar Sajjad, the secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) — a nationwide body of health professionals, warned that the public’s “non-serious” attitude along with “politicisation” of the issue might lead to a disaster.

“Both the government and the opposition are taking the pandemic to a point where everyone gets infected in the country,” Sajjad, who himself is in isolation after getting infected by the virus, told Anadolu Agency by telephone.

“Why would the people [take] coronavirus seriously when their leaders are not taking it seriously?” he questioned.

Although the government last month reimposed restrictions including a ban on rallies and gatherings in a bid to stem the surging coronavirus cases, the defiant 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) opposition alliance refused to call off its scheduled public meetings.

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Tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered in Lahore on Sunday to attend the last rally of the first phase of the opposition's anti-government movement, despite the ban.

Several government ministers also addressed public meetings in recent weeks, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.

The Jamaat-i-Islami, however, postponed its protest meetings against the government due to a second wave of Covid-19.

Lack of uniform policy

Pakistan has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths in recent weeks. The country recorded 70 deaths from the virus on Wednesday.

With 2,545 new infections on Wednesday, the total caseload in the country has reached 448,522, including 9,080 deaths. Pakistan has tested over 6.17 million people for the virus to date.

The total number of active cases in the country stands at 43,851.

Terming the country’s incumbent risk communication strategy “weak”, Dr Asghar urged the government to come up with a “workable” set of safety precautions and restrictions to contain the raging pandemic.

“The state should not just announce a strategy and expect the people to simply follow that. The policy must be workable, and [formulated] with the consultation of the stakeholders,“ he maintained.

Sharing a similar view, PMA's Dr Sajjad said the lack of a uniform strategy has harmed the efforts to stem the pandemic.

“There should be one policy to be implemented across the country. Apart from politicians, the government should involve health experts, scientists, and traders to develop a uniform policy to implement across the country,” he said.

A third wave?

Faisal Sultan, special assistant to the prime minister on health, told Anadolu Agency last week that Pakistan was negotiating with China, Russia and others to procure coronavirus vaccines.

The vaccine, he said, would be available in Pakistan sometime between January and March next year, and administered to health workers and senior citizens in the first phase.

Dr Asghar said it’s hard to predict about a third wave of coronavirus in the country after winters.

“Will there a third wave or not, it’s difficult to say at this stage because our data is incomplete and weak,” he commented.

“Instead of politicians, the scientific community should be brought in front. Their data-based evaluation and strategy can do much better,” he emphasised.