Mental illnesses on rise in Pakistan due to coronavirus

With many people now reporting symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive equivalents, and anxiety, the novel coronavirus has started seriously affecting the mental health of people, including healthcare providers – in Pakistan and the rest of the world.

Increasing incidence of substance abuse is also being observed in the world, including Pakistan. However, the situation stands far worse in war-torn countries like Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

Speaking at an international conference – with the theme “Mental Health for All: Greater Investment – Greater Access. Everyone, Everywhere”— at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), mental health experts from Pakistan and other parts of the world said that the countries facing a serious economic crisis like Pakistan have been also adversely affected by mental health issues during the coronavirus pandemic.

The chief guest, Professor Haroon Ahmed said coronavirus had started affecting the mental health of people all over the world, and in Pakistan people with a newer type of depression and symptoms of PTSD were approaching psychiatrists for treatment.

“People are complaining of symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to COVID-19- related stress and experiences. A newer type of depression, which is not clinically depressed, is also being observed where people are feeling lonely and [exhibiting] a lack of interest in daily life. These issues have a close relation to COVID-19 and its impacts on the daily life of people.”

Appreciating that it is heartening to note that people are breaking taboos and publicly admitting that they are under treatment for depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders, he noted that an estimated 70% of the depression is due to biochemical imbalance in the brain, which is not the fault of the patient.

“I have been saying this for the last several decades that there is no need to hide mental illnesses,” he said and added that mental health was given a low priority but it was a high prevalence health issue in our society.

Meanwhile, president-elect WPA Professor Afzal Javed claimed that the prevalence of mental health issues was not less than cancer or cardiac ailments in the world, and it was estimated that now 25 to 30% of the world’s population was suffering from some kind of mental illness.

It's right time to allocate more resources for mental well-being, treatment, and cure in countries like Pakistan, he added.

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Covid-19 positivity rate rose to over 2% during the past week: Asad Umar

Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar on Sunday noted that the coronavirus positivity rate rose to over 2% during the past week which had remained below 2% during the past six weeks.

Taking to Twitter, the minister said mini smart lockdowns have been re-imposed in major cities of the country including Karachi, Islamabad, and in the Azad Jammu Kashmir region, keeping in view the surge in coronavirus cases.

Read more: Fearing a second coronavirus wave, PM Imran Khan urges Pakistanis to wear masks in public

In a tweet, the minister noted that the positivity rate of the virus has increased by 2% during the past week whereas it was recorded at less than 2% during the past six weeks.

"Administration across the country has been directed to ensure safety measures, however, success is still impossible without the support and cooperation from people," the minister wrote on Twitter.

 

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South Korea eases social distancing curbs amid COVID-19 downtrend

South Korea said on Sunday it will begin social distancing rules on Monday, allowing the reopening of nightly entertainment facilities and sports fixtures, as new coronavirus cases have been edging lower in recent weeks.

Daily infections of the virus that causes COVID-19 have largely been in the double digits over the past two weeks, down from as many as 440 during outbreaks following a church and a political rally in August. Those prompted authorities to tighten curbs on gatherings and some businesses.

The eased rules mean entertainment facilities such as nightclubs and karaoke bars can reopen and limited audiences will be allowed at sports matches such as the popular Korea Baseball Organization League, as long as they comply with anti-virus guidelines.

But some stricter rules will be kept in the heavily populated Seoul area and high-risk venues including religious gatherings and door-to-door sales businesses, the government said.

“We will lower the level of social distancing nationwide but maintain the controls on risk factors such as the door-to-door sales industry,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting.

“Many citizens are feeling fatigue over prolonged distancing, and we also took its negative impact on the economy into consideration.”

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South Korea eases social distancing curbs amid COVID-19 downtrend

South Korea said on Sunday it will begin social distancing rules on Monday, allowing the reopening of nightly entertainment facilities and sports fixtures, as new coronavirus cases have been edging lower in recent weeks.

Daily infections of the virus that causes COVID-19 have largely been in the double digits over the past two weeks, down from as many as 440 during outbreaks following a church and a political rally in August. Those prompted authorities to tighten curbs on gatherings and some businesses.

The eased rules mean entertainment facilities such as nightclubs and karaoke bars can reopen and limited audiences will be allowed at sports matches such as the popular Korea Baseball Organization League, as long as they comply with anti-virus guidelines.

But some stricter rules will be kept in the heavily populated Seoul area and high-risk venues including religious gatherings and door-to-door sales businesses, the government said.

“We will lower the level of social distancing nationwide but maintain the controls on risk factors such as the door-to-door sales industry,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting.

“Many citizens are feeling fatigue over prolonged distancing, and we also took its negative impact on the economy into consideration.”

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PML-N leadership absolved of sedition charges except Nawaz Sharif

According to the latest development on the inquiry into sedition case lodged against Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) leadership, Punjab Inspector General said on Saturday due to lack of evidence the police shall not pursue the case except against Nawaz Sharif alone.

IG Punjab Inam Ghani said special investigation team assigned to probe the case has recorded the statement of the complainant.

He said the clauses 121, 123 A and 153 A have been expunged, after the inquiry concluded, from the case due to lack of substance.

The inquiry team concluded it, said the IG, after having recorded the statements from the complainant and probed the video statements implicated in the case.

He said the leadership was nominated in the case due to supporting the speeches by Nawaz Sharif which according to the complainant were tantamount to sedition.

However, the IG noted that due to lack of evidence on the involvement of the leadership, their names have been removed from the case.

The investigation unit overseeing the matter said the rest of the investigations in the case will follow due legal process.

Earlier it was reported that a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was constituted to investigate the sedition case registered against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other party PMLN leaders.

A four-member team headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Central Investigation Agency (CIA) Asim Kamboh was formed on the directives of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani.

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Armenia, Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the ceasefire

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the terms of the Russia-brokered ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, which was aimed to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than 25 years.

The ceasefire, clinched after marathon talks in Moscow advocated by President Vladimir Putin, was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead.

The Moscow talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds of people.

The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

Within minutes of the truce taking effect from midday, both sides accused each other of breaking it.

The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive five minutes after the truce took hold and killed two civilians.

Azerbaijan said enemy forces in Karabakh were shelling Azeri territory and that one civilian had been killed. Both sides have consistently denied each others’ assertions in what has also become a war of words accompanying the fighting.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told Russia’s RBC news outlet the warring parties were now engaged in trying to find a political settlement, but suggested there would be further fighting ahead.

“We’ll go to the very end and get what rightfully belongs to us,” he said.

Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the truce would last only for as long as it took for the Red Cross to arrange the exchange of the dead.

Speaking at a briefing in Baku, he said Azerbaijan hoped and expected to take control of more territory in time.

Armenia’s foreign ministry said it was using all diplomatic channels to try to support the truce, while Nagorno-Karabakh’s foreign ministry accused Azerbaijan of using ceasefire talks as a cover to ready military action.

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Armenia, Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the ceasefire

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the terms of the Russia-brokered ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, which was aimed to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than 25 years.

The ceasefire, clinched after marathon talks in Moscow advocated by President Vladimir Putin, was meant to halt fighting to allow ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces to swap prisoners and war dead.

The Moscow talks were the first diplomatic contact between the two since fighting over the mountainous enclave erupted on Sept. 27, killing hundreds of people.

The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.

Within minutes of the truce taking effect from midday, both sides accused each other of breaking it.

The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan of shelling a settlement inside Armenia, while ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh alleged that Azeri forces had launched a new offensive five minutes after the truce took hold and killed two civilians.

Azerbaijan said enemy forces in Karabakh were shelling Azeri territory and that one civilian had been killed. Both sides have consistently denied each others’ assertions in what has also become a war of words accompanying the fighting.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told Russia’s RBC news outlet the warring parties were now engaged in trying to find a political settlement, but suggested there would be further fighting ahead.

“We’ll go to the very end and get what rightfully belongs to us,” he said.

Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the truce would last only for as long as it took for the Red Cross to arrange the exchange of the dead.

Speaking at a briefing in Baku, he said Azerbaijan hoped and expected to take control of more territory in time.

Armenia’s foreign ministry said it was using all diplomatic channels to try to support the truce, while Nagorno-Karabakh’s foreign ministry accused Azerbaijan of using ceasefire talks as a cover to ready military action.

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