COVID-19: Pakistan hotels ordered shut as tourists break health protocols

Islamabad: Local authorities closed 48 hotels and restaurants in Pakistan’s tourist destinations where a COVID-19 cluster has emerged.

Hotels in tourist hotspots including Shogran, Naran and Kaghan were ordered shut by the Mansehra district administration after several coronavirus cases were reported among staff working at different hotels.

Almost 50 hotel employees in the three tourist spots tested positive for coronavirus and were immediately quarantined, said Maqbool Hussain, Mansehra Additional Deputy Commissioner.

Smart lockdown suggested

Kaghan Development Authority has recommended imposing a ‘smart lockdown’ at the hotel and restaurants where the cluster was reported. It is not yet clear for how long the hotels would remain shut but officials say businesses would be allowed to open after the situation is under control. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tourist spots in Hazara and Malakand divisions also witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases. This compelled the local authorities to begin large-scale random testing of tourists and ensure the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Over 2 million local tourists flocked to the scenic northern areas as soon as Pakistan lifted its coronavirus restrictions and reopened tourism after successfully flattening the COVID-19 curve. The move led to a slight increase in cases in the northern areas. Health experts have warned that tourist destinations could be responsible for a second wave of the virus in Pakistan if strict guidelines are not imposed.

Tourists flouting rules

The tourist destinations were opened under a “No mask, no tourism” policy and tightly controlled conditions but the photos and videos suggest that local Pakistani tourists continue to ignore health guidelines. “Forget social distancing, people were not even wearing masks. It was as if there is no such thing as coronavirus at all,” Islamabad resident Rabia Hameed, who recently returned from a trip to Swat with her family, told Gulf News. She feared that the laid back attitude of the administration to COVID-19 may lead to a rise in cases. “People should know that their actions have consequences on a bigger scale especially for the people whose livelihood has been battered by the pandemic. We must be careful.”

Pakistan’s COVID-19 recovery rate jumped to 94 per cent on Tuesday while the death rate remained at 2.1 per cent. A total of 450 cases and nine deaths were reported during the past 24 hours. Pakistan has carried out 2.4 million tests since the virus outbreak on February 26.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a policy brief about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on tourism warned that over 100 million direct tourism jobs are at risk. Calling for support for the millions of people who depend on tourism, he said, “It is imperative that we rebuild the tourism sector. But it must be in a way that is safe, equitable and climate friendly”.

5 priority areas identified by UN to support tourism:

1. Mitigate the socio-economic impact

2. Build resilience across the entire tourism value chain

3. Maximize the use of technology in the tourism sector.

4. Promote sustainability and green growth.

5. Foster partnerships to enable tourism to support the Sustainable Development Goals.