Govt sets up more checkpoints to detect COVID-19 cases

Shahwani says provincial authorities have ordered return of intending pilgrims to their provinces

QUETTA: Following the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran, the Balochistan government has established additional checkpoints in the province to curb the movement of people coming from Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa intending to perform pilgrimage in the neighboring country.

Balochistan government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani said the provincial authorities had ordered the return of the intending pilgrims to their provinces.

Meanwhile, the government has taken stringent measures at the border along with Afghanistan and Iran to prevent the spread of the disease in Pakistan with the activities at Taftan border suspended for the fifth consecutive day.

“Quarantine center is being established at Pak-Iran border, while Pakistan House at Taftan border has been declared as an isolation ward where 270 pilgrims are being treated,” Shahwani said.

“People who return from Iran will be kept in isolation wards for 14 days, while more isolation wards are being established in Gwadar, Mashkail, Mand and Panjgur,” he added.

The spokesperson said that essential health equipment and physicians would be available in quarantine centers.

The pilgrims who acquire coronavirus clearance certificate from the Iranian government will be airlifted to their respective districts by the Balochistan government.

Commenting on the workforce of the CPEC projects, Shahwani said that 1,200 Chinese had been working in Balochistan and their screening was being carried out.

“The provincial government did not impose travel ban on Chinese engineers but after the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran and Afghanistan, we have been taking steps on war footings,” he said.

The National Health Center has carried out 104 tests for COVID-19 that resulted negative, while a testing center has been established in Quetta.

According to health department, a total of 600,000 people in Balochistan have been screened for the disease.

The Pakistan Railways has also suspended Pak-Iran train service to Iran.

Earlier, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani also vowed to defeat coronavirus and take all possible measures in this regard.

Every single individual coming to Pakistan from Iran or Afghanistan will be screened following the outbreak,” Kamal said while meeting with Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Health Dr Zafar Mirza here in Quetta.

“Government of Balochistan is taking all safety measures,” he added.

The meeting also reviewed the issues and difficulties faced by the Pakistani pilgrims, business community and workers who are stuck in Iran and agreed on taking emergency measures to bring them back.

Meanwhile, Mirza reiterated that the federal government has made screening of passengers travelling from Iran or China through air, sea or highways mandatory and said passengers suspected of coronavirus are being shifted to isolation wards.

“We are establishing a call centre in an attempt to spread awareness among the people regarding safety precautions against the virus. Any individual with virus symptoms can also contact the health experts,” Mirza said.

The Special Assistant to PM also visited the Pak-Iran border in order to discuss the issues of Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Iran and review the facilities being provided to them in the neighbouring country.

Discussing the health insurance card initiative launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mirza told Kamal that the centre has allocated Rs300 million for Balochistan in this regard and said the initiative would benefit half a million families in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2020.