People Ignore Safety Measures as Businesses Open Across The Country

Thousands of people are heading out to local markets and crowded main roads as the country eases the coronavirus lockdown restrictions after almost two months.

However, people are completely ignoring the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safety measures devised by the provincial governments to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

As per the stats, over 2,000 cases were reported from in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 32,000 cases overall with deaths jumping up to 706.

But people on the roads and bazaars are mostly unfazed by the scary developments as they continue to violate social distancing and other safety guidelines during their day out.

As per SOPs, shopkeepers are required to deal with one customer at a time, and not to entertain any buyer without a face mask, ensuring that a gap of six feet is maintained between each other.

However, images from markets around the country had everything but that. Take a look:

It is for the government to understand the impact of these violations in markets after two weeks. If timely measures are not taken, local transmission of the virus will drastically increase and will be out of control. This will not only lead to our health care system breaking down (unable to deal with a large number of cases), it will also increase deaths, decimate the economy and be detrimental to everyone in Pakistan.

We advise people to maintain social distance while ensuring the use of face masks and gloves. Avoid touching your face after touching contaminated surfaces or other people.