KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan has stressed that although the government, particularly Sindh government, has taken this threat very seriously and several measures have been adopted to restrict the pandemic disease, besides striving hard to raise awareness about the precautionary steps that have to be taken by the masses but there is still lot more that needs to be done and more stringent measures have to be undertaken to save the entire nation from the life-threatening disease caused by COVID-19.
In a statement issued, President KCCI also urged the entire nation to stay calm and have faith on numerous measures adopted by the government and the armed forces to prevent widespread outbreak of corona virus, which has been contained to 28 patients only, of which 2 patients have successfully recovered while no deaths have occurred so far. “The entire nation must realize the gravity of the situation, avoid social gatherings and strictly follow all the hygienic measures notified by the government in light of the recommendations given by World Health Organization to save themselves and their loved ones from this threat”, he added.
He was of the opinion that as per statistics, not a single case of coronavirus in Pakistan was in a critical condition and no deaths have occurred so there was no need to panic but there is a dire need to follow all the precautionary measures and pray for the entire nation’s protection from this threat which, after terribly affecting China, has now gripped many countries in Europe that has become another major hotspot.
While extending Karachi Chamber’s full support and cooperation to the government in all its efforts to deal with corona virus, Agha Shahab suggested to establish more isolation cells across the country and strict monitoring of all passengers arriving at all the airports across Pakistan from abroad while the federal and provincial government along with all the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities and other departments must make collective efforts and maintain close coordination with each other so that the entire nation stays safe from this disease.
Referring to numerous speculations, misinformation and disinformation circulating in the social media, Agha Shahab stated, “Unfortunately, it has become a trend in our society that whatever we receive on our phones on social media apps, we immediately forward it to maximum number of our contacts within a few seconds without verifying or checking the credibility of the information that has resulted in triggering a lot of fear and panic amongst the masses. Hence, all of us must initially check such information from credible sources and think twice before forwarding it to others. As a national cause and obligation, all of us will have to act very responsibly and avoid forwarding rumors, disinformation and misinformation to others.”