Zainab Qayyum urges fans, costars to avoid social events

KARACHI: With the third wave of COVID-19 threatening to put the country back into lockdown, strict measures have been implemented to try to curb the rise in cases. However, we saw celebrities stirring controversy for their disregard of the severity of the situation and for hosting lavish get-togethers with little or no heed given to SOPs. However, in the midst of all of the insanity, there seems to be one voice of reason. Responding to a comment on Instagram, industry veteran Zainab Qayyum has tried to knock some sense. She urged all her followers to be responsible citizens and to not “host/attend social events.” Her statement can in lieu of a fan asking why she hasn’t been pictured at any recent social gathering to which she responded that she is “choosing not to go.”

She took the opportunity to explain to those reading that her decision to avoid going out and mingling is because “I am not responsible for myself but also for my co-stars who I have to come on set and work with daily.” She explained that she doesn’t want “them or their families at risk” just as she wouldn’t “expect them to put me at risk either.” She further elaborated that beyond her co-stars on set, she hasn’t met anyone else out of the “fear of being a silent carrier” and that she has been doing so for around a year.

In a tweet, Zainab Qayyum also explained that as an actor “I don’t have a choice but to go to work” but assured those reading that onset the “strictest SOPs are being followed.” So much so, she has had eleven covid tests done and all of them have been negative. Directed at fellow celebrities, the Shehnai star urged them to not “come on set and work with us” if they were out hosting and attending gatherings.