“Mr so and so requests the honor of your presence, at the Qawwali Night of their beloved son Mr Lets-get-married-before-the-lockdown-and-risk-everyone’s-lives. Please leave your masks behind, as it is going to be a small gathering of three hundred and fifty people, just close friends and family, so of course you won’t be exposed to the virus.”

I don’t know what’s increasing these days, number of weddings or number of covid positive cases! I challenge you to open your Instagram right now, each person’s profile is filled with at least 4-5 weddings daily. You see people throwing huge parties to celebrate their birthdays, baby showers, mehndi functions and what not! And who are attending these events? Those with millions of followers! Yes! So instead of setting an example, they are out there promoting several designers, who they are wearing, what they are eating and the list goes on.

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I am sure you all know everyday hospitals are filled with a tsunami of cases; the virus is growing under our feet. Pakistan cannot afford a complete “everyone stays home” kind of a lockdown; a major chunk of our population has to go out in order to bring food at the table in the evening for their families. But the whole point of smart lockdown is to slow down the virus and put a break on it. Which obviously feels like an impossible thing to do with all the weddings that are going on around town.

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It is incredibly sad to see sensible people showing up at these events, promoting it all, almost making it look like covid does not exist. If by now, people haven’t realized the intensity of this deadly virus, then only God can help us.

We hear that the new rules are extremely strict. For instance, you could be in jail for six months for not wearing a mask. Now that sounds bizarre. But the public asks for it. Half of the people still make silly excuses for not wearing a mask. They say it is suffocating, I mean of course it is but at least its better than dying right? We can mask our personalities for all our lives but covering our mouth seems like a daunting task?

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Let us just work together to put an end to this episode of black mirror which I don’t think anyone is liking so far. Protect yourself and your loved ones. In the end, I can only request all the people reading this that please behave sensibly and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WEAR THE DAMN MASK!! Not just for yourself but for others too. Stay Safe!