Comparison of actions taken by Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam for prevention and

control of COVID-19
 More parents were drinking alcohol
Abstract frequently.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious  The study found that certain factors made
disease caused by the newly discovered zoonotic things worse for families
virus SARS-CoV-2. This disease presents the Younger parents, financial difficulties, and
worst public health crisis the world has faced. It preexisting health issues were linked to
is biggest global public health challenge of our poorer parent and child functioning. Stress
lifetimes. COVID-19 situation in each country from COVID19 and dissatisfaction with
and sometimes even within countries is different housing also contributed to family problems.
and evolving. The objective of this study was to Pakistan, where there are challenges like limited
determine the impact of actions taken by the resources, poor hygiene habits, and low
governments and individual behavior on the awareness about COVID-19, the government
coronavirus epidemic in a country. Coronavirus has taken some effective measures. They've
disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease implemented social distancing and
caused by the newly discovered zoonotic virus safety measures to fight the virus. Despite facing
SARS-CoV-2. This disease presents the worst difficulties, Pakistan has a high recovery rate
public health crisis the world has faced. It is the of 92%, which is better than some other
biggest global public health challenge of our developing countries.
lifetimes. COVID-19 situation in each country
and sometimes even within countries is different Now, the interesting part is that the strategies
and evolving. The COVID-19 pandemic is not Pakistan used, like organized task forces and
just affecting physical health but is also quick response policies, can be a guide for other
impacting the mental well-being of parents and developing countries facing similar challenges.
children. The objective of this study was to By following Pakistan's example of social
determine the actions taken by the governments distancing and protective measures, these
coronavirus epidemic in a country. countries can also improve their ability to
This study looked at how the mental health of combat and control the spread of COVID-19,
Australian parents and kids (0–18 years) even if they have limited resources. It's like
changed during the pandemic compared to sharing a successful playbook to help others
before. facing similar situations.
They surveyed over 2,300 parents during the
COVID19 restrictions in April 2020. The
findings showed that, compared to before the
pandemic:

 Parents reported higher levels of

depression, anxiety, and stress.
 Parents were more irritable in their
parenting.
 Family positive expressiveness (positive
interactions) decreased.
).
In many developed countries, they had a good
Introduction budget to fight COVID-19, so they implemented
In Australia, they had a national lockdown in measures early on. But in Pakistan, with limited
April 2020 due to COVID-19. This meant people resources, they adopted strict measures and
could only leave home for essential reasons like focused on the province of Punjab. Despite the
shopping, caregiving, exercise, or work/study. challenges, the country and Punjab province
The lockdown led to job losses, affected achieved a high recovery rate of 92% and 91%,
children's access to schools and social activities, respectively.
and caused increased family violence and mental The study looks at how the provincial
health issues. government in Punjab took quick actions. They
Now, in Pakistan, the first COVID-19 case was formed a team with law enforcement to enforce
reported in February 2020, and it's spreading, government policies and strengthen abilities for
especially in the province of Punjab. Pakistan, screening and detecting cases. They also had a
being a developing country, faced financial community program to respond effectively to the
challenges. The study focuses on Punjab, where pandemic. COVID-19 impacted the economy and
the situation is serious. The upper Punjab areas, public health, so it's crucial for people to support
like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and others, and follow preventive measures.
have many cases. Lower Punjab, with districts The research, spanning 151 days from March 15
like Multan and Bahawalpur, is also affected. to shows how the provincial government
Overall, Punjab had a total of 94,805 cases, 2,179 responded swiftly to control COVID-19. The
deaths, and 86,389 recoveries by August 12, study is divided into four parts: the first talks
2020. Before the outbreak, Pakistan had a about COVID-19 and its background, the second
National Action Plan (NAP) to prepare and discusses the situation in developing and non-
respond to COVID-19. They set up labs, developing countries, the third details the survey
hospitals, and quarantine centers following over 151 days, and the fourth explains the quick
international guidelines. The government response by the government for public health and
imposed a strict lockdown from March 24 to safety.
May 9, 2020. Everything, except essential Materials & Methods
services like food markets and pharmacies, was
closed—schools, restaurants, malls, flights, and The results of this study were analyzed and
borders were shut down to control the virus anticipated using three types of data: Data
spread. collected from the statistics of World Health
Organization. Data collected at district
provincial levels, and (iii) Data collection
from social media, Newspapers & Electronic
Media. Some of the raw data was obtained
from the documents of implemented policies
of the Government of Punjab, with the
collaboration of National Institute of
Health (NIH), Punjab Disaster Management
Authority (PDMA), National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA), law
enforcement agencies, and economic and
health experts. Information collected from
various
).
sources were compiled, refined, and then This study uses cross-sectional baseline data
validated by the respective authorities from the COVID-19 Pandemic Adjustment
(Pakistan,2020). Matlab 18, Sigma Plot, Survey, A longitudinal study of 2,365 Australian
Origin 19 have been used for the Data parents of a child 0–18 years. CPAS aims to
analysis & Graphic work. This study investigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on
investigates and Australian families via online surveys distributed
analyzed the information using methods and on a 2–4 weekly basis. Participants were
policies taken by the Local (District) and recruited via paid and unpaid social media
Central Government (Provincial) to react advertisements using a range of methods to
quickly to the consequences of COVID-19 increase the representativeness of the sample.
mitigation. This study was aimed at Recruitment occurred over the period 8–28th
providing a realistic scenario of the reported April, 2020, during a ‘level three’ national
COVID-19 cases, stating the rapid policy lockdown in Australia, requiring that Australians
responses for public health and safety, avoid leaving their house except for four reasons:
analyzing the governance policies for 1. shopping for food and supplies,
mitigating the epidemic, and to provide a 2. care and caregiving,
pathway 3. exercise, and
(guidelines) for neighboring states to counter the 4. study or work—if unable to do so from
current hard situation. A thematic and home. Participants were eligible to
narrative approach was adopted to analyze participate if they resided in Australia and
and identify the emerging lessons. were aged≥18 years, English speaking,
and a current parent of a child aged 0–
Design and recruitment 18 years.

Population weights
Post-stratification weights in the CPAS dataset
were derived to compensate for differences
between the final sample and the national
subpopulation of Australian adults (i.e.,
parents of a child 0–18 years, estimated
N=8.4 M) [45]. Weights were produced through
a raking approach [46] using six
demographic factors:
1. geographic location (major city, inner and
outer regional areas, and remote areas);
2. child age-groups (0–4, 5–9, 10–12, 13–
14, and 15–18 years);
3. parent gender (male, female);
4. family structure (single parent, couple
family);
5. parent high school non-completion
(yes/no); and
6. pre-pandemic parent employment
(employed, unemployed)
Missing data
).
Item-level missing data on individual variables country (16). On 13th March, the health
was 0–8% in the CPAS study, 0–29% in department Sindh identified a patient as positive,
LSAC, and 0–20% in CAPES. Missing data this case was the first domestic transmission as
were replaced using multivariate multiple patient had travelled from Islamabad (17). The
imputation by chained equations for each first death due to COVID-19 was reported in
study separately. All variables from the final Sindh on 20 March 2020. It was observed that
analytic models and weights were included in many people were unaware and did not take this
the multiple imputation model to create 50 epidemic seriously. Several rumours regarding
imputed datasets. We report pooled results COVID-19 prevention and treatment were being
from these multiply imputed datasets. spread, leading to anxiety and panic among the
Data analysis public.
(1) included the full available CPAS dataset
(i.e., rather than matching to ages of the Actions taken by the government of Pakistan
comparison study samples); Pakistan's National Institute of Health (NIH)
(2) used LSAC Wave 1 and CPAS weights; took several important steps to control COVID-
and 19. They activated an Emergency Operation
(3) excluded high risk families, including Centre, issued guidelines, and provided training
those with a child with ADHD or ASD, on various aspects like surveillance and case
and parents with mental health conditions management. In the early days, Pakistan had to
(post hoc analysis). send samples abroad for testing, but now they
To address Aims 2 and 3, separate linear have their own testing centers in all provinces.
regressions were conducted whereby each As the number of COVID-19 cases increased, the
parent, child, and family outcome. was government implemented measures like
regressed onto risk factors, both in an screening at airports, closing borders, and
unadjusted and adjusted (multivariable) canceling events. Eventually, a lockdown was
model. To aid imposed in March 2020, with troops deployed
interpretability, all continuous variables were z nationwide to help manage the outbreak. The
score standardized before entry into government also took steps like closing down
regression models. In line with Perneger, we markets, restricting travel, and initiating training
report results without adjusting for multiple for healthcare staff across the country.
comparisons. Effect size estimates are
based on guidelines for population studies. The decision to impose travel restrictions and
Results lockdown was made when the number of
Pakistan is located between two main COVID- confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 515, and the
19 affected countries i.e. China and Iran. On 26 lockdown continued until April 7th, with further
February 2020, the first two cases of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, transport, and
were reported in Islamabad and Karachi hospital outpatient departments. The NIH played
respectively. Both patients had travelled from a crucial role in training and coordinating efforts
Iran. After importation of cases from Iran, close to combat the spread of the virus.
monitoring and active screening of passengers In Pakistan, especially in the province of Punjab,
travelling from Iran started at Taftan border.A the government took serious steps to tackle the
congregation of an Islamic organization took coronavirus. They saw it as a big challenge and
place at Raiwind Markaz, Lahore on 13th March formed a strong team with the help of law
2020 and resulted as super-spreader event with enforcement, administration authorities, and
more than 539 confirmed cases across the
).
health organizations like NIH and PDMA, distancing. So, the Punjab Government decided
NDMA. to enforce a two-day lockdown. The Chief
Minister asked everyone to close markets, malls,
This team worked together to slow down the and public places, practice social distancing, and
spread of the virus. They identified the areas stay home.
most affected by the virus and made sure to keep However, unfortunately, people didn't really
people safe. At the same time, they tried to follow these guidelines. Markets and restaurants
stabilize the economy, which was suffering due stayed open, so the lockdown got extended for
to the pandemic. The government's actions are two weeks from March 24 to April 6, 2020.
listed in chronological. During this time, everything like markets, public
Importantly, these steps can also be a guide for places, restaurants, traffic, and schools remained
neighboring states and other developing closed. The government kept emphasizing
countries. So, it's like sharing a playbook on how preventive measures like staying home, washing
to deal with COVID-19 based on the experience hands, and maintaining distance.
of the government in Punjab, Pakistan. Lockdowns were extended multiple times till
April 30, and all religious activities were
Prevalence of COVID-19 in different suspended. The government even set up more
Locations of Punjab hospitals in Jhelum and Rawalpindi. By April 30,
The first case of COVID-19 in Punjab, there were 6340 cases, 106 deaths, and 1921
specifically in Lahore, was reported on March recoveries reported. To bring down the number
15, 2020. The person had traveled from the UK of cases, the lockdown was extended again till
and was admitted to Mayo Hospital in Lahore. May 9.
Soon after, on March 11, 76 more suspected However, the Prime Minister was concerned
cases popped up in different districts of about the economic impact and the hardships it
Punjab.The Health Department tested them, and would bring, especially for the 25% of the
fortunately, 55 cases were negative, but 10 had to population living below the poverty line. So, on
be isolated. The Punjab Government declared a June 20, they shifted to a smart lockdown
health emergency in the province and set up strategy in Punjab. This helped the country's
quarantine centers in Dera Ghazi Khan for economy improve, and by August 3, the recovery
people suspected of having the virus, especially rate reached a maximum of 91%. The smart
those returning from Iran. lockdown was then lifted. The key takeaway is
Later, 13 more suspected cases arrived in Dera that, by adapting strategies, they managed to
Ghazi Khan via the Taftan border and were sent balance controlling the virus and supporting the
to the Mirpur quarantine center. The total number economy.
of reported COVID-19 cases is detailed in Table
3. By August 12, the recovery rate reached an Public Relief Fund
impressive 91%, showcasing the effectiveness of Certainly, let's simplify this! Despite facing
the health management system in dealing with economic challenges, the Government of Punjab
the pandemic. took steps to help people in need. They released
funds to support poor families and provided
Declaration of Lockdown in Punjab-Smart subsidies to industries, especially smaller
lockdown impact businesses facing financial losses. On March 28,
In Punjab, a lot of COVID-19 cases were 2020, the government announced a 10 billion
spreading locally because people weren't rupees’ relief fund for 2.5 million poor families
following preventive measures and social in Punjab. Each family received 4000 rupees as
).
assistance. They also implemented preventive challenges due to a shortage of testing kits and
measures and controls through the Punjab limited labs at the district level. Despite efforts,
ordinance for disease control and prevention. the government couldn't record the travel history
Medical staff throughout the province received of many people who visited infected countries.
an additional one-month salary package. The recovery rate in Punjab reached 91% by
To strengthen the health sector's fight against August 12, showcasing effective provincial-level
COVID-19, the government released 11.5 billion management. However, there's still a need to
rupees for the health sector and PDMA. They enhance hospital and lab capacities, and tracing
introduced the Insaf Imdaad Program (IIP) on people who visited infected countries is crucial.
April 1st to help those affected by COVID-19. Rapid Response to Healthcare Professionals
Additionally, 870 million rupees from the Zakat and Media
fund were released to support 170,000 poor The healthcare staff, including doctors and
families across the province. These measures paramedics, played a crucial role in slowing
aimed to provide financial support and assistance down the spread of COVID-19 in Punjab, despite
to those facing difficulties during the pandemic. facing challenges like a shortage of protective
gear. They lacked things like PPE, goggles, caps,
Provision of Health Facilities by Government face masks, and gloves. To address this, the
of Punjab Punjab Government worked with manufacturers
In Punjab, the government faced challenges in and suppliers to ensure a steady supply of
the health system, like limited beds, ventilators, medical equipment. They also organized training
and funds. Public hospitals weren't entirely free, for medical staff in collaboration with NIH and a
and private ones were expensive. To address this, team of Chinese experts.
the Chief Minister announced plans to build a These frontline warriors faced risks, and
new 1000-bed hospital in Lahore and upgrade unfortunately, many doctors, nurses, and
five more hospitals for COVID-19 treatment. paramedics got infected (85 doctors, 111 nurses,
The Punjab University pitched in by making and 215 paramedics). Some were hospitalized,
hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, and testing and others isolated at home until May 11, 2020.
kits. They set up quarantine centers, including a Tragically, two doctors and a few paramedics
massive one in Multan with 3000 rooms. The lost their lives while treating COVID-19 patients
government aimed to conduct 3200 tests daily, in Punjab.
recruited 10,000 medical staff, and quickly To honor and recognize their services, the police
operationalized a 1000-bed hospital in Lahore force presented a Guard of Honor at Mayo
Expo Centre. Hospital in Lahore. It was declared that if any
healthcare worker dies during the treatment of
To enhance testing, 620 million rupees were the outbreak, they would be considered a martyr,
allocated for eight new testing labs. and the government would provide a relief
Collaborating with NIH and NDMA, six tertiary package to their family.
hospitals were established across Punjab with Doctors and health experts were invited to talk
advanced equipment. Fifty medical centers with shows to emphasize the importance of preventive
955 beds and six quarantine centers with 10,948 measures like wearing masks, gloves, staying
beds were set up in different districts. People home, washing hands, and maintaining social
infected with COVID-19 were asked to stay there distancing. The media played a crucial role in
for 14 days. broadcasting these measures and updating the
Nineteen labs were established in major cities, public on government actions against COVID-
testing 5810 cases daily, but there were 19.
).
deployment of the Armed Forces and Police
Strong Immunity Level in People of Pakistan Force to enforce preventive measures.
Pakistan is in Asia, where there's ample sunlight Poverty further complicates matters, with an
throughout the year and a short winter season. estimated 25% of people living below the
Traditionally, winter is considered the prime time poverty line. Poor living standards, lack of
for the spread of diseases like pneumonia, hygienic habits, severe environmental conditions,
typhoid, and respiratory illnesses. and food shortages pose additional challenges.
There's a belief that exposure to sunlight helps There's also a lack of proper maintenance of the
produce melatonin and Vitamin D, which in turn travel history of individuals who visited infected
reduces the risk of respiratory infections. This areas, potentially leading to further transmission.
seasonal variation might explain periodic Despite these challenges, the Punjab Government
outbreaks of pandemic viruses, like the current is making efforts to address these issues and
situation with COVID-19. reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission across
While it was initially thought that COVID-19 the province.
might spread more easily in winter, recent studies Sample characteristics
show that it can still transmit outside of the The COVID-19 Pandemic Adjustment Survey
typical winter timeframe. Also, contrary to (CPAS) looked at some statistics about the
earlier beliefs, recent research indicates that people who participated:
children can be affected by the virus.  On average, the parents in the survey
There's an interesting observation about the were 38 years old, and their kids were
Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine, around 9 years old.
originally for Tuberculosis. In countries where  Most of the participants were women, and
BCG vaccination is routine, like Pakistan, there about half of the kids were girls.
seems to be a lower impact of COVID-19. This  The majority of the people lived in major
could be because vaccines boost the immune Australian cities and were born in
system. Australia.
In Pakistan, the recovery rate reached 92% by  Not many participants were Aboriginal or
August 12, showing effective management in Torres Strait Islander.
dealing with the pandemic.  The survey had fewer families with low
income, non-English speakers, and lower
Challenges education levels compared to the overall
Pakistan is facing economic challenges, Australian population, but it did have a
especially in its provinces like Punjab, while good number of single-parent families.
dealing with the current COVID-19 outbreak.  About one-third of the parents reported
Limited resources and financial constraints are having a chronic physical health
making it difficult to effectively combat the condition, 40% mentioned a mental
virus. The struggle is compounded by a large health condition, and 15% had a child
population, leading to shortages of isolation with ADHD or ASD.
wards, emergency medicines, PPE, face masks,  Interestingly, half of the participants had
gloves, labs, and diagnostic kits. Additionally, a a child at home while they were working
significant portion of the population is from home during the pandemic.
uneducated and unaware of the severity of the Comparisons with pre-pandemic Australian
pandemic. Despite government measures, people data
often neglect precautions, necessitating the Parents reported experiencing higher levels of
depression, anxiety, and stress during the
).
pandemic compared to before it. There were  Larger families with more children had
no significant differences in parent emotion small associations with lower child
dysregulation or depression in children anxiety, more parenting irritability, and
aged 12–15 between the pandemic and pre- higher family negative expressiveness.
pandemic datasets. However, parents with Cultural and Educational Factors:
younger children (0–9 years) reported  Parents who spoke a language other than
increased parenting irritability during the English were more likely to report lower
pandemic compared to pre-pandemic alcohol consumption and higher couple
samples. conflict, with moderate associations for
In terms of family dynamics, parents reported higher parenting irritability.
more conflict with their partners during the  Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
pandemic compared to some pre-pandemic parents reported higher anxiety levels but
samples but not others. For children aged 0– consumed alcohol less regularly.
9, parents reported lower positive  Single parents consumed alcohol less
family expression during the pandemic than in regularly, smoked more, and reported
pre-pandemic samples, but there were no moderately higher child anxiety.
differences in negative family expression.  Parents without completing high school
had somewhat higher anxiety levels and
Additionally, parents reported higher rates of were more likely to smoke.
smoking and alcohol consumption during the Financial Factors:
pandemic compared to pre-pandemic data from  Financial deprivation was consistently
some samples. associated with poorer functioning,
Sensitivity analyses, which are alternative including higher parent depression,
analyses to check the robustness of results, anxiety, stress, emotion dysregulation,
confirmed the findings of the primary and more family negative expressiveness.
analyses.  Inner regional areas reported lower
family positive expressiveness compared
Pre-existing demographic and socio-economic to major cities.
factors In simple terms, various factors like age, family
The study looked at how various factors size, cultural background, education, and
influenced parent, child, and family outcomes financial status had different associations with
during the pandemic compared to both pre- the well-being of parents, children, and families
pandemic and COVID-19-related risk factors. during the pandemic.
Here's what they found:
Demographic Factors: Pre-existing individual factors
 Women reported higher anxiety levels Parent's Personality:
than men but were less likely to smoke or  Parents with higher introversion (lower
consume alcohol heavily. extraversion) showed very small
 Older parents tended to have lower levels connections with higher levels of parent
of depression, anxiety, stress, and depression, anxiety, emotion
parenting irritability. However, they dysregulation, child anxiety, and less
showed a moderate association with more regular alcohol consumption.
frequent alcohol consumption. Health Conditions:
 Older child age was associated with  Parents with chronic physical conditions
higher parent anxiety and more smoking. had small associations with higher parent
).
anxiety and stress, child anxiety, and associations with higher parent anxiety
significant connections with less frequent and stress, and higher parenting
alcohol consumption and smoking. irritability.
Mental Health Diagnosis: Work and Home Situation:
 Parents with pre-existing mental health  Juggling paid work while supervising a
diagnoses had large to very large child at home had mixed outcomes. It was
associations with higher levels of associated with small/very small
depression, anxiety, stress, and emotion connections to higher parent depression,
dysregulation. They also showed small to child anxiety, and parenting irritability, a
moderate connections with higher child very large connection to a lower
anxiety and depression, couple conflict, likelihood of smoking, and a small
and family negative expressiveness. connection to higher family positive
Children's Health Conditions (ADHD or expressiveness.
ASD): Housing Factors:
 Parents with a child with ADHD or ASD  Renting was associated with small
had moderate to large associations with connections to higher child depression
higher child anxiety and depression, and lower couple conflict. Parent
lower family positive expressiveness, satisfaction with their home had
higher negative expressiveness, higher small/very small protective effects, linked
parenting irritability, and a small to lower levels of parent depression,
connection with higher couple conflict. anxiety, stress, emotion dysregulation,
COVID-19 pandemic stressors child depression, parenting irritability,
COVID-19 Stressors: couple conflict, and family negative
 Higher reported levels of stress related to expressiveness. There were very small
COVID-19 (like negative feelings about associations between the number of
the pandemic) were associated with bedrooms and higher levels of parent
various negative outcomes. These stress and child depression, and lower
included higher levels of parent levels of family positive expressiveness.
depression, anxiety, stress, emotion Discussion
dysregulation, child anxiety, child In response to the rapid spread of the
depression, parenting irritability, and coronavirus, the Government of Punjab,
family negative expressiveness. Pakistan, implemented various rules and
COVID-19-Related Environmental Stressors: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to
 Stressors such as job loss or employment reduce COVID-19 transmission. Led by the
changes due to COVID-19 had President,
associations with several negative Prime Minister, and Chief Minister of Punjab, a
outcomes. These included higher levels of dedicated team collaborated with law
parent depression, anxiety, stress, enforcement, health experts, administrative
smoking, emotion dysregulation, child staff, and policymakers. Their goal is to
anxiety, child depression, couple conflict, enforce government policies, implement
less family positive expressiveness, and preventive measures, strengthen early screening,
more family negative expressiveness. and respond promptly to COVID-19 and
Media Consumption: other diseases.
 Using multiple sources of news media
more frequently had very small
).
The coronavirus was first detected in Punjab on for the poor, and public cooperation are
March 15, 2020, with most cases originating emphasized to overcome these challenges
from Pakistani visitors returning from Iran. and eradicate the virus.
The virus quickly spread across cities,
leading to the declaration of a health Research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic
emergency. Lahore, Gujranwala, and Rawalpindi and associated restrictions had widespread
were the most affected cities. The and negative impacts on Australian families.
government enforced safety measures Parents in the CPAS study showed poorer
following WHO guidelines, but infections functioning across various aspects
increased due to non-compliance. A high- compared to pre-pandemic Australian data. This
level included declines in parent mental health
meeting decided to impose a lockdown, despite (such as depression, anxiety, and stress) and
concerns about economic crises and poverty. an increase in alcohol consumption. Family
The lockdown, initially from April 24 to May relationships were also strained, with
6, was extended to May 9 due to a surge in higher levels of parenting irritability and verbal
cases. conflict between couples, along with lower
Public non-compliance, even with military and family positive expressiveness.
police intervention, led to this extension.
During the lockdown, all activities, including Several factors consistently contributed to these
businesses, industries, education, and travel, negative outcomes. Younger parent age,
were halted. The government introduced increased financial hardship, pre-existing
financial assistance programs like Insaf physical and mental health conditions in
Imdaad Program and Zakat Fund to aid the parents, COVID-19-related psychological
vulnerable population. Health facilities were and environmental stressors, and dissatisfaction
improved, and funds were allocated to with housing were associated with worse
enhance testing and treatment capabilities. parent functioning and more strained family
Despite limited facilities, healthcare staff relationships. In terms of child mental health,
worked tirelessly, facing shortages of pre-existing health conditions in
medical parents and exposure to COVID-19 stressors
resources. Unfortunately, many healthcare were consistently linked to higher levels of
workers contracted the virus, with some anxiety and depressive symptoms in children,
losing their lives. The government especially if the child had a diagnosis of
recognized their sacrifice and compensated ADHD or ASD.
their families.
The media played a crucial role in updating the Conclusion and Future Perspective
public on the pandemic and educating them The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread
on preventive measures. Maintaining a strong worldwide, affecting both developed and
immune system, facilitated by Vitamin D developing countries. In Pakistan, the first case
from sunlight, was highlighted as was reported on February 26, 2020, and in the
crucial in the fight against COVID-19. Pakistan, province of Punjab on March 15, 2020.
and particularly Punjab, faced challenges due Fortunately, the recovery rate has reached 91%,
to limited resources, poor hygiene, and lack which is higher than in many other countries,
of awareness. Strict enforcement of possibly due to factors like a robust immune
preventive measures, financial support system, effective governance, or weather
conditions.
).
The Government of Punjab has implemented there is no conflict of interest among the authors
various protective measures, including involved in this study.
lockdowns, public relief funds, improved health
facilities, and a rapid response from healthcare
staff. Despite these efforts, challenges persist due
to limited resources and financial constraints in
Pakistan, a developing country with economic
limitations. Challenges include poor living
standards, lower literacy rates, food issues, and
inadequate health facilities.
However, the government remains committed to
ensuring the availability of necessary health
facilities despite these challenges. There is a
crucial need to enhance public awareness,
encouraging people to follow preventive
measures such as social distancing and staying at
home unless necessary. Positive collaboration
between the public, task forces, and law
enforcement agencies can significantly contribute
to the successful containment of the virus.
Pakistan is already in a strong position with a
91% recovery rate, and the government is taking
additional steps to develop a COVID-19 antibody
vaccine. Collaborating with Sinopharm, a
Chinese pharmaceutical organization, since April
2020, this initiative is seen as a significant
clinical development project in Pakistan's
research history. The findings from this project
aim to enhance the country's health safety
management system in the ongoing battle against
the COVID-19 pandemic.
We want to express our gratitude to the Senior
Medical Officers from PMDA, Government
representatives at both Central and Provincial
levels, as well as the support from NIH (National
Institute of Health, Pakistan), and NDMA
(National Disaster Management Authority).
Their assistance has been crucial in gathering the
data that forms the foundation of our research,
enabling us to present an accurate picture.
It's important to note that this research has
received full funding from the Northeast Asian
Research Centre at Jilin University, China. We
want to be transparent and assure everyone that