Covid-19 cases in K-P double in single day

Health department says most cases were reported among pilgrims who have returned from Iran and are in quarantine

PESHAWAR: Even though the provincial government announced a five-day public holiday across the province that is expected to last until next week, the province on Tuesday completed reported 40 new positive novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.

The government, meanwhile, disinfected streets of the provincial capital, set up traffic check posts, arranged personal protection equipment (PPE) and conducted a flag march.

A statement issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Department on Tuesday evening said that samples from 241 pilgrims, who had returned from Iran and were kept in quarantine, were tested for the virus. Of these, results for 37 individuals came back as positive while results for another 29 came back as negative.

It added that three cases had been reported from elsewhere in the province which was in line with the general trend of cases emerging in the province. Including two from Peshawar and one from South Waziristan. Further, it said that some 98 new suspected cases of COVID-19 had been reported in the province while 147 pilgrims had arrived at the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Postgraduate Paramedical Institute for quarantine.

Public holiday

Earlier in the day, while addressing a daily briefing, Adviser to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information Ajmal Wazir on Tuesday said that the provincial government had decided to announce a public holiday across the province for five days until March 28 instead of an enforced lockdown, he said that the holiday is aimed at helping keep members of the public at home. The only exceptions were mandatory service departments, including health, police, district administration, and secretariat departments.

The public holiday is accompanied by a week-long ban on inter-district transportation services.

We cannot win the war against the virus until the public accepts and follows the provincial government’s directives on quarantine and social distancing, he said, adding that the government is not oblivious to the hardships the stoppage of public transport will bring for the people.

“To protect the lives of the people and to prevent the spread of this pandemic, it is necessary to take tough decisions,” he said.

Recapping the measures taken by the provincial government to stop the spread of the contagious disease, Wazir pointed to how all markets had been restricted to operate between 10am to 7pm while stores supplying foodstuff and other essentials could remain open around the clock.

Offices of all but seven critical government departments were currently open. Those open had reduced their timings from 10am to 4 pm.

Further, all Urs and religious congregations such as Tableeghi Ijtimahs have been postponed. A fatwa on offering prayers in open spaces and in shifts with greater distance between the rows has been issued. The elderly and children have been advised to pray at home. Similar action has been taken for Churches and other prayers of minorities in the province.

The government has also enhanced its quarantine facilities to accommodate over 10,000 people with each in a separate room. For this purpose, rooms in some 675 hostels have been identified.

The government is also working on enhancing the testing capacity of the province from 100 to around 1,600.

CM reviews quarantines

Wazir added that Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who also heads a provincial task force, visited some 26 quarantine, high dependence units (HDUs) and major health facilities. This included the Quarantine Centre in the Duranpur area of Peshawar, near the Motorway Interchange.

The adviser added that the situation will normalize if the public cooperates with the provincial government.

Safety measures

The district administration, police and security personnel on Tuesday conducted a flag march in the walled city area. As they did so, however, they played COVID-19 prevention measures from loudspeakers apart from urging the public not to venture out of their homes unnecessarily.

Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Asghar along with police and other security forces patrolled the city. People were also guided to use facemasks, wash their hands regularly and thoroughly and also directed them to follow government directives strictly.

Business centres were also urged shut their activities, adding that only pharmacies, groceries and the takeaway and delivery counters of restaurants are allowed to stay open.

They warned that any violators would be dealt with iron hands.

Disinfecting the streets

With a public holiday declared in the province, the Water and Sanitation Services of Peshawar (WSSP) intensified their disinfection operation in Peshawar.

A dozen teams of WSSP sterilized several areas of the city including the Chief Minister’s secretariat, government offices, police lines, roads, markets and public spaces.

Dressed in the necessary personal protection equipment (PPE), including masks and jumpsuits, teams continued their sterilization operation late into the night.  The disinfection operation started early on Monday with roads in the Yakatoot, Nauthia, Gulbahar, Faqirabad, GT Road and other localities of Peshawar being sprayed. The Dauranpur quarantine centre and adjoining areas were also disinfected.

The disinfection operations will be carried out at night as the roads are empty. However, keeping in view the intensity of pandemic, the teams have been tasked with continuing the operation during the day as well.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM DNA

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2020.