Chitral returning to normal as COVID-19 SOPS are vanishing fast

CHITRAL: Current situation in Chitral town has almost returned to the the Pre-Corona days as hardly any one in the bazars etc can be seen wearing a protective mask. Restaurants are open and populated with diners, the mosques have returned to normal where prayer goers sit and stand for prayers shoulder to shoulder with no gap. The pre-prayer sermons are as lengthy as can be and any SOP that was expected to be followed in the mosques like wearing masks etc, have gone for a six.

The only SOPs being followed to some extent is forcibly closing of shops on Saturdays and Sundays, as if Corona only poses a threat on weekends. Also some sports activities are also prohibited thus far e.g gymnasiums, indoor table tennis games or badminton games etc. Although these and any sports are the best defence against Corona and in any of these activities there are ten times less people involved at any one time than in a mosque at prayer time, and the social distance in these sports activities is also much more by default. Strange are the ways of governance in Pakistan!

Meanwhile some Hotel and Restaurant owners told Chitral News that the Administration has not paid them their dues outstanding since early days of Corona when they were told to provide lodging and food to the quarantine confined patients. This amount overdue to be paid to the affecties is in tens of millions and some poor restaurant owners were literally weeping.

Some youngsters when asked why they were not wearing a mask said they did not believe in Corona as none of their relatives, friends, friends of friends or acquaintances have caught the virus, even without observing any precaution.. .. CN report, 20 July 2020

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