Sindh province is 2nd thickly populated region of Pakistan with more than 50.89 million people living in the region. In terms of quantity and quality of health facilities province if one of the most vulnerable regions. According to the Sindh health department, the total number of hospitals, dispensaries and, laboratories is just 2,970, which is not enough to cope up with the global pandemic such as Covid-19. Pakistan has overall 250 Coronavirus cases so far, and the Sindh region contains the highest number of cases, as of today (18th of March) 181. In this situation when an outbreak is inevitable, the most important thing to do is to change the cultural and personal habits to avoid it.
Cultural Habits that can cause COVID-19 Outbreak in Pakistan
There are several traditional and cultural gestures and habbits that can work as fuel on fire and one of the most common is hugging and shaking hands. When meeting friends and relatives or even acquaintances shaking hands and hugging is a very common tradition and at times of Coronavirus can be a lethal weapon of spreading the disease. Evening gatherings at unhygienic tea stalls locally called Dhaba’s is another possible behavior that can cause a deadly outbreak of global pandemic in Pakistan. Handwashing with soap is not very popular but with unhygienic street food consumption, it becomes more dangerous than it is in normal conditions.
Personal Behaviors
Many well-educated people while sharing Birthday cake eat from one piece which is very common. Just a day ago I have seen a friend celebrating his Birthday and everybody around was taking a bite from one piece, which ultimately shares the droplet to spread the bacterias and viruses. In rural areas touching the mustaches very often can also be a way to catch the disease. On the other hand, letting children play in the street , which is quite normal, can be a possible threat to the spread of Covid-19. It is also very important for mothers before feeding children or cooking thoroughly wash their hands with soap.
To be bold is good but sometimes to be scared is better
The most important and most dangerous behavior in which people in the region Sindh and overall Pakistan have to change is the behavior of ignorance. Social media memes and messages show that people are not scared of an outbreak. They keep spreading misinformation about virus and promoting their homemade recipes to fight against the world’s deadliest pandemic which makes the situation much more suitable for an outbreak. To be bold is a good thing when it is a question of saving a life but its better to be scared when you can be a reason behind the deaths of thousands of others.