Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned that the second wave of coronavirus infections was imminent, especially in cities that face higher air pollution levels.
In an award ceremony pertaining to clean green index programme, the prime minister said that he feared there might be a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in cities where the rate of pollution increases in October and November.
“I fear that in October and November […] cities like Faisalabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Gujranwala where there is more pollution […] there might be a second spike in coronavirus cases. The cases are rising gradually and we hope that they don’t increase quickly; we are monitoring it,” he added. According to the PM, the infections could increase during winter as ‘pollution becomes stagnant in the atmosphere’.
This is not the first time that the premier has warned of a resurgence of the deadly virus. At the start of this month, he had urged people to follow precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Even though there have been multiple warnings by the government officials about the imminent spike in coronavirus infections, the federal and provincial governments have yet to take any serious measures to thwart a potential catastrophe. In March when the virus had started making inroads in Pakistan, the federal government through its reckless attitude enabled the outbreak.
The prime minister had said the coronavirus infection was just like normal ‘flu’ which could be cured with ‘hot water’. This attitude didn’t help the government or public living under the shadow of a pandemic.
This time again, the government is dilly-dallying on measures to prevent COVID-19 outbreak. Despite a gradual spike in cases since September, the government has allowed schools and businesses to operate, exposing millions to the virus.
SMOG AND CORONAVIRUS:
Experts say the pollutants could also aid the spread of coronavirus, said a BBC report. “In addition to air pollution decreasing immune defences, it is thought that particulate and nitrogen dioxide found in air pollution can act as vectors for the spread and survival of airborne particles such as Covid [virus],” Mary Prunicki, director of air pollution and health research at Stanford University, said.
Studies have shown that exposure to high levels of pollution worsens the condition of patients who have diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease and asthma. And it also weakens the immune system of healthy people.
“The lung is the gateway to the body and any damage to the organ can cause severe problems. And that makes people more susceptible to Covid-19,” Dr DJ Christopher, head of pulmonary medicine at the prestigious Christian Medical College in Tamil Nadu, said. Christopher said. “It’s akin to fighting a war with weakened front-line soldiers.”
In Lahore, the air quality index has crossed 200 –very unhealthy– since the past week. According to the IQAir website, “Air quality in Lahore usually worsens during the winter season from October to February.” It says that winter air pollution is ‘worse due to temperature inversion, which results in a layer of warm air that is prevented from rising trapping air pollutants’.
