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- The national health ministry believes it has done 鈥榚verything鈥� to create awareness about the contagion
- Some WhatsApp messages suggest one should not use hand sanitizers since they use alcohol as an ingredient
LAHORE: Shahbaz Gill, 40, first heard about coronavirus through a public service message on a local news channel. 鈥淚 know that is a dangerous disease,鈥� he tells Arab News, 鈥渂ut I am not too sure about the precautions. I mean I do know, but just a little bit.鈥�
Gill, who is a daily wager, lives with a dozen people in a 60-square yard home in a slum in Lahore, Punjab. 鈥淚 know that we have to wash our hands at least 20 seconds if we don鈥檛 want to get sick,鈥� he said. 鈥淎lso, we must thoroughly cook all food items, especially meat and eggs.鈥�
He received the last bit of information from one of his friends.
A father of two, Gill earns Rs 20,000 per month by painting homes. He has no savings or a bank account. The day he does not get work, running the household becomes difficult. Gill wants to buy hand sanitizers and face masks for his children but does not have the money. 鈥淲hy wouldn鈥檛 I want to buy it? No one wants to die,鈥� he adds. 鈥淏ut our [household] expenses are such that we cannot afford these things.鈥�
Pakistan detected its first two cases of coronavirus on February 26. Since then the number of confirmed cases has jumped to 304, as of March 19. Two people have also died after being infected.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination put together a national action plan on coronavirus. It identified, among other things, the need for 鈥渆ffective community engagement and awareness raising鈥� through print, social and electronic media to combat the virus. 鈥淎ll parliamentarians are requested to actively spearhead the awareness campaign in their respective constituencies,鈥� it reads.
Yet, Sonia Naveed, who works at a beauty salon in Lahore, is unclear about the measures needed to protect herself. 鈥淚 read in a newspaper that we have to be careful of germs,鈥� she told Arab News over the phone. 鈥淲e must wash our clothes with Dettol and empty out the dustbin regularly.鈥�
She has not received any government flyers regarding the virus. Neither has any government official visited her home. But after watching news, the 22-year-old and her family decided to stay home and avoid crowds. Others in her neighborhood, however, are not taking the spread of the disease seriously. Only half the people in her area have barricaded themselves. 鈥淭he rest insist that 鈥榡o hoga dheka jaye ga鈥� (Whatever happens, will happen),鈥� she said.
As per the guidelines of the World Health Organization, people are advised to regularly wash their hands and use sanitizers, maintain a social distance and avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth. If a person has fever, cough and difficulty breathing, he/she should seek medical attention, it recommends.
However, the directives listed on an official pamphlet of the Punjab government further add to the standard precautions. One leaflet insists that people use online services to buy groceries and keep a minimum distance of one meter at home from family members. Both advises are impracticable for daily wagers like Gill, who live in large families and have little access to the Internet.
In light of the pandemic, officials at the national health ministry insist that they have launched a country-wide public information campaign about coronavirus. 鈥淥ur message is loud and clear,鈥� Dr. Tanveer Ahmed Qureshi, the secretary at the ministry, told Arab News over the phone. 鈥淭he government campaign started in February and till now we have done everything in terms of awareness.鈥�
Part of the strategy, the secretary added, includes distributing pamphlets and running advertisements on television and radio. Furthermore, telecommunication networks have been requested to forward awareness messages on people鈥檚 phones. 鈥淭he prime minister is taking a lot of interest to ensure that we contain this virus and reverse it.鈥�
Even then, Shakeel Bashir, who lives in Peshawar, is unsure about what causes the virus. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I think if you sneeze on someone they can get it,鈥� he said.
Shahzeb, a laborer, is just as uncertain. He told Arab News he has not heard of coronavirus. 鈥淪omeone said there is a virus that has come from China,鈥� he said sitting outside a construction site on the outskirts of Peshawar, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you get it or what happens after you get it.鈥�
Further complicating the government鈥檚 job is the flurry of misinformation on WhatsApp and other social media groups. A young man who works at a media house in Lahore says he does not use hand sanitizers. 鈥淭here is alcohol in them,鈥� he insisted, asking not to be named. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 pray if you use a sanitizer. That鈥檚 what I read on WhatsApp.鈥�
In order to deal with misinformation, said Ajmal Khan Wazir, the adviser to the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on information, the government is reaching out to religious clerics for assistance.
鈥淭omorrow I am meeting the ulema to help us with our awareness campaign,鈥� he told Arab News. 鈥淲e are doing whatever we can.鈥�
Additional reporting by Natasha Zai