There is a huge shop at the entrance to the Shah Alam Bazaar (also known as Shahalami Market). It is decorated with fairy lights that illuminate its glass-door entrance. Shahalam Market is a hub of shopping with more than 20,000 shops. Its distribution outreach extends across Pakistan and some of the shopkeepers here boast that it is the largest wholesale market in Asia. Outside the shop’s door, there is a notice from the government of the Punjab stating that no one is allowed to enter the shop without a mask or getting their hands sanitized at the door. However, there is no sanitizer or attendant at the main door.

Upon entering the shop, around a dozen salesmen can be seen catering to the customers. The owners of the shop are also present at the counter. Neither the customers nor the staff are wearing a mask. Most of the masks are either on the chins or on the foreheads. Many customers are carrying masks but only one or two are wearing them properly i.e. covering their noses and mouths.

“Unfortunately, such carelessness has become routine in most of the markets; neither customers nor shopkeepers are abiding by the SOPs prescribed by the government,” Anjuman-i-Tajraan, Lahore, president Mujahid Maqsood Butt tells The News on Sunday.

The country is in the grip of a second wave of coronavirus pandemic. During the last week, the number of daily new cases climbed to 3,000. November witnessed more than 50,000 new positive cases. Health experts believe that Pakistan is heading towards a dreaded second wave and the government needs to impose another lockdown to deal with it.

The Covid-19 positivity rate in Pakistan by the start of last week stood at 7.46 percent, highest since the start of the pandemic nine months ago. The positivity rate in some of the large cities including Karachi and Hyderabad has crossed 19 percent. Islamabad is not far behind the national average at 7 percent.

The government has ordered all education institutes to close and put a ban on indoor weddings and gathering of more than 300 people. In Karachi, indoor dining services have been banned by the district administration.

However, Prime Minister Imran Khan has ruled out a lockdown. He has been arguing since March that a lockdown will ruin the country’s economy. Therefore, the federal government has granted permission to factories and shops to remain open as long as they follow the SOPs.

However, it is clear that not many people are practicing social distancing in the markets, shops, and at other hubs of business activity hubs. “We have been consistently advising retailers and wholesalers, individually and through the representatives of different associations to follow the SOPs, but all those efforts have been in vain,” Mujahid says. “Sadly, most shopkeepers and a large number of customers aren’t paying heed to government instructions. However, there’s a good number of wholesale traders who are still following the SOPs,” he adds.

“Sadly, most shopkeepers and a large number of customers aren’t paying heed to government instructions. However, there’s a good number of traders who are still following SOPs,” says Mujahid Maqsood Butt.

A proposal is under consideration by the Punjab government to close down markets and shops by 6:00pm as SOPs are not being followed. While acknowledging that a warning to this effect has been issued by the Punjab government, Khalid Pervaiz Malik, the All Pakistan Traders’ Association president, claims that most of the business outlets are following the prescribed guidelines.

“The lockdown brought devastating financial losses to our businesses and to daily wagers who can earn their livelihoods only if there is business activity. Restricting business activity on account of a small number of violators will damage many sectors,” he adds.

During the first pandemic wave, several shops and markets were shut down because for their failure to follow the recommended SOPs. Mujahid Maqsood Butt is in favour of a repeat.

“Some associations and shop owners are not paying serious attention to government appeals. Closure of business outlets and imposition of heavy fines over violations is the only solution. The times require caution. If we take precautions, we can slow down the spread of the virus like we did earlier,” he says.

Butt claims that several requests have been made to government officials to strictly enforce the policy in this regard but “nothing has been done yet”. “Sadly, no government official has called retailers and wholesalers, so far, to discuss a strategy related to Covid-19”, he states.

The provisional data shared by the Commerce Ministry indicates that the country’s exports crossed the $2 billion mark for the second consecutive month in November, registering a 7.2 percent growth.

This shows that factories are operational. Nevertheless, industrial areas and factory units situated outside of industrial areas also need to follow rules. Under the SOPs, all staff wear masks and gloves; maintain three-feet distance between workers; floors are cleaned on a regular basis with disinfectant; and door handles, copy machines, printers, light switches, telephones, keyboards and machinery is wiped clean with the proper disinfectant after every use.

Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front chairman Mian Nauman Kabir says that the manufacturing sector is not under serious threat of another lockdown as such businesses are consistently following the recommended rules.

“Till today, business activities in the manufacturing houses is going on normally. However, the second wave has raised serious alarm for everyone. We have no hesitation in sitting down with the government and other stakeholders to chalk out a solid approach to handling the second wave of the pandemic,” he adds.

The author is a staff member. He can be reached at warraichshehryar@gmail.com