PHOTO: AFP
Meanwhile, the Sindh and Balochistan governments have agreed to share details about people travelling from Iran via the Taftan border, which was re-opened on Friday.
In a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday, health department officials stated that 80 per cent of the people who had returned from Iran, and whose details had been shared with the department by the Federal Investigation Agency, had been traced. Not a single of these individuals, they told Shah, had been found to display symptoms of coronavirus.
In a notification, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the health department has also advised the families under quarantine not to send their children to school for two weeks.
Germany quarantines 1,000 as coronavirus cases push past 50
"Not a single person apart from 22-year-old Y* has been declared positive for coronavirus," health department spokesperson Atif Vighio told The Express Tribune. "Our teams across Sindh have made a tremendous effort to reach so many people within 24 hours," he added, praising the officials.
The health department also claimed that 67 persons who had been in direct contact with Y had been screened, adding that they were found to be negative for coronavirus.
Vighio explained that there were three categories of people linked to Y that the department was screening: the passengers who travelled with him, his family and neighbours, and students and teachers at his university, where he attended classes for two days this week.
According to another official, Y's family was kept in isolation at the Dow University of Health Sciences' (DUHS) Ojha campus for a day and a half, later being shifted to their house, which had been sanitised by health officials.
Health department spokespersons further stated that Y was still under treatment at an isolation ward in Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and his health was improving.
Owing to the fear and awareness among citizens about the spread of the virus, it appeared that the people who had interacted with Y had voluntarily approached the health department for screening.
DUHS and AKUH are also carrying out free screening tests of suspected patients, under the sponsorship of the health department.
Screening of more suspected patients is also being done while DUHS and AKUH have free-of-cost screening test facility sponsored by Sindh Health Department.
Crossing the Taftan border
In a coronavirus taskforce meeting at the CM House on Friday evening, Interior Minister Aijaz Shah told the Sindh CM that Pakistanis who had travelled to Iran had gathered at the border to re-enter the country. "Had the Taftan border been kept closed, the stranded people would have taken other routes across the porous border. Therefore, the border has been re-opened," he explained.
At this, Murad spoke to Balochistan CM Jam Kamal Khan, who informed him that 7,000 to 8,000 Pakistanis were coming from Iran.
Murad stressed the importance of quarantining the travellers for the requisite duration, to which Khan replied that his government was making arrangements to quarantine them at the border and in nearby areas.
The Sindh CM requested his counterpart in Balochistan to gather details of the travellers and share them with the other provincial governments so that necessary action could be taken. Both the chief ministers agreed to share this data.
During the meeting, Murad was also informed that 557 people from Karachi had travelled to Iran and the government had established contact with 466 of them. The remaining people could not be contacted because they were either still in Iran, had given incorrect addresses or their houses were locked, he was told.
Health department officials said that all those who had been contacted so far were not displaying coronavirus symptoms, while cautioning that they may be asymptomatic patients.
He directed the health department to keep monitoring those who had returned from Iran, and also ensure the constant presence of rapid response teams in districts and all ports of entry.
He was further told that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority had receives 2,000 face masks and sent a requisition request for a million more. The CM also directed the district administrations to remain vigilant about the availability and fair pricing of safety masks.
Separately, the home department issued a notification imposing a 30-day ban on hoarding safety masks in Karachi division, maintaining that strict action would be taken against hoarders and profiteers.
Two coronavirus cases emerge in Pakistan
Besides a control room at the commissioner's office, coronavirus control rooms have also been established in each of Karachi's districts. The helplines can be reached at 021-99333175-6 for West district, 021-99230918 during the day and 021-34835504 during the night for East district, 021-99333788 for Malir district, 021-99260049 and 021-36429145 for Central district, and 021-99333926 for Korangi district.
Schools to reopen Monday
Meanwhile, the Sindh chief minister's adviser on law, environment and coastal development Murtaza Wahab claimed that over 600 pilgrims returning from Iran had been screened and cleared for the disease at airports. As a result, he said, public and private educational institutions across Sindh would reopen as scheduled from Monday.
Addressing a press conference at the Sindh Assembly's committee room, Wahab said that the government had gathered information about the 1,419 people who had travelled from Sindh to Iran, of whom 952 had returned to Pakistan so far. He added that 650 of those who had returned had been screened and cleared by medical teams.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 29th, 2020.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ