Health emergency declared amid coronavirus concerns

Provincial govt takes decision in view of PHEIC declared by WHO

PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Tuesday declared a health emergency in the province following the detection of five coronavirus cases in the country.

A notification issued by the of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Department said the decision was taken in view of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) declared by the WHO in January this year and the subsequent declaration of health emergency by the federal government.

Exercising powers under Section 6(1) read with Section 3 of the K-P Public Health (Surveillance and Response) Act 2017, the Public Health Committee Chairperson, also the provincial health minister, Taimur Jhagra declared a health emergency with immediate effect in a bid to enable the department to take necessary measures for preparedness, prevention, control and response throughout the province.

The health department noted that the virus poses a high-level threat at the global level with confirmed cases in neighbouring countries. It added that since the COVID-19 has been confirmed in the country, it threatens to spread to the province as well.

“Extensive measures are required to be set in place for the preparedness, prevention, control and response to the spread of the disease throughout the province due to its high rate of spread and non-availability of treatment at the moment which may lead to significant casualties,” read the notification.

In an effort to prevent the possible outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the province, the K-P government on Tuesday has released Rs100 million to the health department.

The K-P health secretary while briefing the chief minister had said that the provincial health department has set up isolation wards at all district hospitals with a capacity of 983 beds both in public and private sector hospitals for treating coronavirus patients.

The health secretary said that protocols for reporting and infection control have been developed and issued, while training of service providers on case management is underway. A control room has been established at provincial level for regular reporting and a laboratory for testing of the novel coronavirus has been made operational.

As part of the measures against the epidemic, the health secretary had said that Rapid Response Units have been established in all the districts to deal with any emergency in an effective manner. The line departments and autonomous bodies have been instructed to plan and execute activities related to preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19.

The meeting was informed that staff members and ambulances have been provided to ensure screening at the Bacha Khan International Airport in the provincial capital.

Additional staff and ambulance have been provided to ensure screening at Torkham border.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2020.