The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore on Tuesday donated cash and other essential equipment to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Covid-19.
During a meeting with Punjab Governor/Chancellor UET Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Syed Mansoor Sarwar and UET Faisalabad Campus Textile Engineering Department Chairman Dr Mohsin presented a cheque worth Rs 2,556,167/- from faculty, officers and staff as a donation towards the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Covid-19.
A teacher explains the proper way of washing hands to her pupils at a school in Pakistan. The focus on personal hygiene could not get any more serious than it is right now given the strange times we are facing following the global spread of the coronavirus. As we write this, there are more than 341,337confirmed cases of people that have contracted the virus across the planet, while already the number of deaths has surpassed 14,700.The world seems to have come to a halt and governments across the globe are implementing harsh measures to keep the virus from spreading further. This includes a mass closure of schools, colleges and universities, a move that has affected more than 500 million students worldwide.
In a new report, the UNICEF says hundreds of millions of children around the world will likely face increasing threats to their safety and wellbeing – including mistreatment, gender-based violence, exploitation, social exclusion and separation from caregivers due to actions taken by governments to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
In a matter of months, COVID-19 has upended the lives of children and families across the globe. School closures and movement restrictions are disrupting children’s routines and support systems. They are also adding new stressors on caregivers who may have to forgo work.
Stigma related to COVID-19 has left some children more vulnerable to violence and psychosocial distress. At the same time, control measures that do not account for the gender-specific needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls may also increase their risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and child marriage. Recent anecdotal evidence from China, for instance, points to a significant rise in cases of domestic violence against women and girls.“In many ways, the disease is now reaching children and families far beyond those it directly infects,” said Cornelius Williams, UNICEF Chief of Child Protection. “Schools are closing. Parents are struggling to care for their children and make ends meet. The protection risks for children are mounting. This guidance provides governments and protection authorities with an outline of practical measures that can be taken to keep children safe during these uncertain times.”Increased rates of abuse and exploitation of children have occurred during previous public health emergencies. School closures during the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, for example, contributed to spikes in child labor, neglect, sexual abuse and teenage pregnancies. In Sierra Leone, cases of teenage pregnancy more than doubled to 14,000 from before the outbreak.
Despite having a host of examples to learn from and clear head start to plan an effective response, Pakistan’s actions to contain the spread of dangerous COVID-19 disease have raised a lot of questions. But the big question is: Does Pakistan realize the gravity of the situation the world is in and is it itself ready?
n the interest of the matter under discussion and keeping in view the enormity of this situation, we will not indulge in repeating history by reiterating where the first case of nCOVID-19 coronavirus was identified (1) and how and when it progressed to be characterized by the Word Health Organization as a global pandemic (2). Social media (particularly WhatsApp) has been a rather rich source of obfuscating information that has left some with genuine apprehension and concern but has also served as a referenced source for defiance particularly for people in the younger age group (3, 4). At the time of writing this manuscript (5), there were 328,800 confirmed cases of nCOVID-19 around the globe in 189 countries and territories and one international conveyance (6).
Data from Pakistan and its neighboring countries (7) is provided in the table below as an illustration that by the time you will read this article, these numbers would have changed drastically:
Pakistan has made a set of serious errors in judgment and overt vacillation in taking decisive decisions has amplified this crisis. First, we are not taking seriously the magnitude of this catastrophe
| CONFIRMED CASES | RECOVERED | DEATHS | NEW DEATHS | |
| GLOBALLY | 340,408 | 97,571 | 14,573 | 1,566 |
| PAKISTAN | 776 | 05 | 05 | 02 |
| COUNTRIES AROUND PAKISTAN | ||||
| INDIA | 332 | 23 | 05 | 01 |
| CHINA | 81,054 | 72,440 | 3,261 | 06 |
| IRAN | 21,638 | 7,635 | 1,685 | 129 |
| AFGHANISTAN | 34 | 03 | 01 | 01 |
In Pakistan, majority of these cases have been reported in the province of Sindh (333) followed by Punjab (225) and Balochistan (104). This table depicts the enormity of public health calamity that we are facing in Pakistan, which sits in a landmass surrounded by countries with active nCOVID-19 crisis. Of greater concern is that Pakistan has active bi-lateral economic ties with most of these countries which necessitates constant travel of people and goods across the border.
As communities, institutions and individuals, we need to switch from reacting to what has happened to instead taking bold action in anticipation of what is coming.
It was not until February 23, 2020, that Pakistan closed its borders with Iran (8) and on March 01, 2020 with Afghanistan (9).Even more disconcerting was the fact that Pakistan did not suspend incoming international flights until March 21, 2020 (10). It is confounding that against all logical arguments, Pakistan proceeded to reverse its decision and open its borders with Afghanistan on March 22, 2020 (11).
Pakistan has made a set of serious errors in judgment and overt vacillation in taking decisive decisions has amplified this crisis. First, we are not taking seriously the magnitude of this catastrophe. Given that the spread of this virus has entered into the “community” phase of dissemination, our response to this emerging public health crisis continues to be dominated by politics rather than serious and informed strategy. We did not learn from global experience nor did we totally appreciate the potency of coronavirus and its colossal impact on our community.
The services of doctors, nurses, and support staff in healthcare facilities who are taking care of suspected cases and nCOVID-19 positive patients without adequate protective gear need our most sincere appreciation.
To this day, the responses of our political establishment are at best myopic, indiscriminate and abominable, largely reflective of our culture which is dominated by management of crisis rather than implementing a set of policies that are informed by the experience and expertise of national and international experts and could potentially result in curtailing the damaging impact of the
To combat the spread of COVID-19, Department of Textile Engineering University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Faisalabad Campus (UET-FSD) produced cost and performance effective bio based anti-bacterial face-masks under the supervision of worthy Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Syed Mansoor Sarwar.
The Department of Mass Communication Launched LCWU Web TV. The purpose of this Web TV is to create awareness among 14000 students in particular and public at large regarding corona virus pandemic.
The universities should start blending and online teaching-learning ensuring compliance with the minimum requirements using Learning Management System (LMS) available at campuses and online platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Class etc.
In response to a number of complaints regarding online classes in some universities, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has asked for detailed information on these courses in order to inspect the quality of the content, delivery, and connectivity.
The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore arranged two separates consultative stakeholder video conferences on challenges of efficient food supply chain of dairy, poultry and meat in Punjab during COVID-19 emergency here at City Campus Lahore.
Punjab government’s decision of reducing tuition fee of private schools to 80 percent has been widely rejected by the private schools as well as parents, as both of them have reservations at their part.