Publication:

Protective and preventive measures to control COVID-19 in Pakistan healthcare prospective

COVID-19, which first appeared in the December of 2019, has claimed over two million deaths to this day and the number continues to grow daily. Some countries have managed to successfully curb the threat whereas others continue to struggle. It is vital that we look at the measures taken by these countries that others can also implement those models and overcome this pandemic successfully. Amongst the countries which were successful in keeping in check the spread of the virus and the deaths caused is Pakistan. This paper explores the preventive measures taken by Pakistan at each stage of this pandemic, by taking the efficacy of each measure by its effect on the number of active patients, number of recovered patients and the death. Primarily, the government owing to the financial instability of the population couldn’t implement robust lockdowns and travel bans, which resulted in the spread of the virus. As the time progressed, novel strategies were introduced which posed to be more successful in containing the spread. One of the strategies was the implementation of a smart lockdown based on successful implementation of a ‘track and trace’ strategy. Furthermore, ‘lockdown vs. livelihood’ calculation, intra-city travel bans, procuring foreign aid, provision of medicinal supplies and incorporation of media helped Pakistan limit the spread of the virus. These models can also be incorporated in other countries facing the virus, resulting in decreased number of active patients and deaths. These strategies might help the world overcome this pandemic.