Restricted public gatherings: Pindi shrines sealed, malangs told to go home

District administrations seal four gyms and play areas for defying orders

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi district administration on Wednesday sealed seven shrines while it told its caretakers and mystic malangs to go home.

Following orders from the provincial government and in line with the health guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the district administration in the garrison city has ordered the closure of playgrounds, gyms and physical fitness centres, swimming pools and kids play areas for three weeks as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

A notification issued by Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Anwarul Haq read all the shrines of the district will remain closed for public for a period of three weeks.  Subsequently, City Assistant Commissioner Ambreen Chaudhry on Wednesday raided establishments located in the vicinity of Tipu Road in the Sadiqabad area and sealed a physical training centre.

District Civil Defence Officer Talib Hussain sealed four gyms and four play areas for kids which offer electronic rides for children for defying the ban. These establishments were located along the Chakri Road and Adiala Road respectively.

Meanwhile, officials of district and tehsil administrations sealed seven shrines which had not complied with the closure notice.

The closures came as Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Wednesday directed to impose a ban on gatherings of five or more people under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

15 isolation wards set up

The Rawalpindi District Health Authority has set up seven quarantine centres and 15 isolation wards to screen and treat patients suspected of coronavirus.

Rawalpindi District Health Officer Dr Ehsan Ghani said that the quarantine centres have been established in all the seven tehsils of the district including at the Fatima Jinnah University, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University hostel and designated places in Taxila, Gujjar Khan, Kallar Sayyedan, Kotli Sattian and Kahuta while isolation wards have been set up at the seven THQ hospitals and eight rural health centres.

All 22 quarantine centres have been equipped with protective kits, medicines, doctors and paramedical staff.

Dr Ghani further said that as many as 10 passengers, who had returned from Iran via Taftan, have been shifted to the quarantine facility in DI Khan even though they had tested negative for the coronavirus.

He said these people hail from Rawalpindi and have been quarantined as per the set procedures for all passengers coming from Iran.

More passengers end up in quarantine

Another eight passengers and an Airport Security Force (ASF) official have been shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) after they displayed symptoms of COVID-19.

Sources said that a private flight carrying Umrah pilgrims from Saudi Arabia arrived at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) on Wednesday.

During the screening, eight passengers, including four men, two women and two children hailing from Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Mianwali, Azad Kashmir and Attock had a high temperature.

Following standard operational procedures (SOPs), these passengers were separated from others and shifted for further diagnosis to the isolation ward in Pims.

ASF Constable Muneer Ahmed deployed at the airport was also shifted to the isolation ward of Pims after he was found running a fever.

Meanwhile, there was panic at the airport for a few minutes as officials of the ASF tried to find two passengers who had tried to slip away after showing fever during thermal scanning.

Sources said that the passengers, who had arrived from Dubai and Sharjah respectively, had shown symptoms of fever and flu and were therefore separated from the rest of passengers for transfer to the isolation ward at Pims.

However, both men quietly slipped away, apparently, in a bid to avoid being quarantined. The disappearance of suspected coronavirus infected people caused ASF officials to panic. The two absconders, though, could not get very far and were soon found in the parking lot.

The two maintained that they wanted to go travel to Pims in their cars. However, they were soon sent to the isolation ward for further tests.

Social distancing urged

Parliamentary Secretary, National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Nausheen Hamid Wednesday urged the public to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus by taking “common-sense precautions” such as washing hands frequently and maintaining social distance.

People should follow social distancing guidelines and avoid unnecessary meetings to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, she stressed.

She said anyone who has travelled abroad in recent weeks should observe self-isolation and should avoid public gatherings or physical contact with other people for at least two weeks.

Any symptom should be reported immediately to the government on the given helpline so that medical assistance can be provided at their doorsteps, she added.

It is time for the citizens to stay vigilant and take all precautionary measures to stay safe. Unfortunately, we have limited diagnostic kits which are not sufficient to test everyone, she advised.

Awareness drive

In connection to Clean Green Pakistan Campaign, the communication teams of Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) and Albayrak carried out an awareness campaign in Fauji Colony in Union Council 8 to aware the people about the precautionary measures needed to be taken for stopping the virus from spreading.

The cleanliness agencies insisted that the public strictly follow hand hygiene and flu etiquettes along with maintaining a social distance of a metre or six feet at least.

Kids and women were made to realize the importance of handwashing as a saviour from many fatal diseases including Coronavirus.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2020.