Pandemic: Shrines, playgrounds shut in Islamabad

Gyms, sports grounds also closed following closure of educational institutions

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: After the government announced the closure of educational institutions and parks as part of preventive measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) on Tuesday issued a notification announcing the closure of all shrines within its jurisdiction.

This includes the shrine of Bari Imam, considered the patron saint of Islamabad by many people.

Besides shrines, ICTA has also directed the closure of other places of public gatherings including gyms, training centres, sports grounds and play areas for children for three weeks.

The notification, issued by the ICT Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, further directed the management of all private and public universities to ensure that students are asked to leave their hostels.

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Earlier, the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) had banned entry to the Islamabad Zoo, Daman-e-Koh, Pir Sohawa, Sector F-9 Park and all other recreational places under the Islamabad local government.

The disease that originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan and later engulfing over 100 countries has impacted and caused numerous changes in daily affairs with the seizure of flight operations, suspension of events. The panic caused saw people hoarding groceries.

Suspected patients

At least five suspected COVID-19 patients, who displayed symptoms of the virus, were shifted from the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) to the isolation ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Tuesday.

The suspected patients include an employee of the health department. The other four passengers include a foreign national who arrived in Pakistan from the UAE.

They will remain in the isolation ward pending results of their COVID-19 test.

NADRA extends expiry dates

Given the coronavirus outbreak and maintaining social distancing protocols to arrest its spread, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has suspended the renewal process for computerised national identity cards (CNICs). In this regard, it has extended the expiry dates of the identification document.

A notification issued in this regard on Tuesday read that thousands of people visit NADRA offices across the country every day to renew their CNICs.

However, due to the ban on public gathering as well to prevent the possible spread of the highly contagious disease, NADRA has extended the deadline of expired CNICs until July 1, 2020. “NADRA has decided to extend the expiration dates of CNICs expiring between September 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020.”

Meanwhile, the public can use the authority’s online services to request amendments or rectification in their existing identity cards.

Pindi courts grind to a halt

A notification issued by the Rawalpindi District Bar Association (RDBA) President Ghulam Mustafa Shah and RDBA Secretary Yasir Mehmood Chatta on Tuesday said that most of the criminal and civil suits under adjudication in the Rawalpindi district courts will remain suspended until April 5 as part of preventive measure against the coronavirus.

However, only cases of illegal confinement, interim bails and cases of emergency nature will be heard in the given duration.

It further stated that the courts would not issue any negative orders on the absence of the litigants or lawyers in the cases that have been exempted from proceedings.

Face masks’ smuggling bid foiled

Authorities in the federal capital on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang of four for allegedly hoarding thousands of face masks.

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Acting on a tip-off by the Rawalpindi administration, ICTA officials along with police raided a house in Sector F-7 of Islamabad where they found some 150,000 face masks in 35 cartons.

Officials said that the masks, worth Rs20 million, were due to be smuggled outside Pakistan. Four Chinese nationals were subsequently booked by the police.

IIA fumigated

The National COVID-19 Command and Control Centre on Tuesday disinfected sections of the Islamabad International Airport.

The operation was conducted under the supervision of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). According to the NDMA, the disinfectants sprayed are safe for the environment and biodegradable. It also clears all kinds of microbes within three to five minutes, the authority added.

The NDMA added that flight operations continued at IIA as normal during the fumigation process.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2020.