32 corona patients recover as Balochistan tally tops 189

Four health employees also catch coronavirus, forcing closure of Health Directorate

QUETTA: With an addition of four new cases on Sunday, the tally of coronavirus cases in Balochistan reached 189 with the number of locally transmitted cases in the province crossing the 50 mark.

The development was confirmed by the Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani. On the other hand, the lockdown in Quetta and the rest of the province remained in force as markets stayed shut and traffic was low.

The provincial government also initiated distribution of ration in different areas. According to official stats, so far ration has been distributed among 21,383 families. Besides, NGOs have distributed ration among 5,814 families while MNAs and political figures also handed ration to 7,756 families.

In another positive development, the Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Aliyani confirmed that 13 more people have recovered from the virus in Quetta.

“At least 13 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 have made a full recovery in Balochistan  and have been discharged from the hospital,” he disclosed in a tweet earlier.

This brings the provincial tally of recovered patients to 32. The 13 patients newly recovered were under treatment at the quarantine center established at Shaikh Zayed Hospital Quetta. They were quarantined for 14 days and after the completion of this period, screening tests were conducted again before all the patients were discharged.

According to a report released, at least 44 cases of local transmission were reported in the province during the last 7 days. Spokesperson Shahwani had stated that 150 suspected patients undergo tests in the province daily and they would be able to improve the capacity to 800 within the next few days.

“We have performed 2,311 tests till date,” he said. “We have asked the federal authorities to provide kits so that 50,000 people across the province could be tested.

Health employees catch virus New cases also emerged from the office of Director General Health Services in Quetta.

Three employees of DG Health Services’ office and one employee of the health department tested positive for coronavirus.

Locally transmitted cases in Balochistan are creeping up. The newly emerged cases forced the closure of Health Directorate of DG Health’s office whereas all the employees of the department were ordered to be tested. It is important to note that the health directorate  employees had been working without any protective kits.

The provincial Director General of  Health has constituted a committee for collecting test samples of employees working in isolation wards and quarantine centers.

According to sources in the health department, all the employees are being tested now after the initial diagnosis of coronavirus cases within the department. Those who have tested positive have been shifted to Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Quetta.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2020.