Zubair Qureshi
Officers of District administration and police on Sunday paid visit to various checkposts established outside the cordoned/sealed subsectors of G-9 (G-9/2 & 3) and expressed solidarity with the personnel of the Islamabad police and the Pak Rangers there.
Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat was among the first to visit the area and distribute the COVID-19 kits among the jawans. Talking to media briefly on the occasion, he said the district and police administration along with health teams and paramilitary and security forces were doing a great job by ensuring complete lockdown in the COVID-19 hit areas of Islamabad.
We shall see keep lockdown in effect until Monday (today) and will re-evaluate the situation on Tuesday to decide whether the lockdown should further extend or not, said Hamza Shafqaat while replying to a question.
Meanwhile, according to the District Health Officer of Islamabad, Dr Zaeem Zia, his teams had started tracing the contacts of over 200 persons tested positive in these areas.
A team of healthcare and capital administration officials have begun tracing the contacts of confirmed patients who live in the sealed sub-sectors and once traced, they will be quarantined and tested for Covid-19, he further said.
At present we are investigating 465 cases (310 male and 1155 female). Our teams are doing amazing job by collecting samples, interviewing the possible cases (contacts of the confirmed cases), doing awareness drives and taking the COVID-19 positive cases to hospitals he said.
Islamabad on Sunday reported 7934 cases and 75 deaths—771 new cases and four deaths in 24 hours–the highest number of new cases in one day. This has been the single highest one-day number of the new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours.
He said the areas were sealed to prevent patients there from transmitting the disease to other people and spreading the virus in other areas. Residents of both sub-sectors will be screened for symptoms, and those with symptoms will be quarantined and tested as well.
When his attention was drawn to the fact that at G-9 checkposts Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were being violated buy the police officials stationed in the area as they were found not to be wearing masks or taking other precautions, he said masks and other protective equipment were arranged and provided to them.
They were also provided edibles to prevent them from having contact with residents as this could cause police officials to fall ill as well, Shafqaat said.
Daily-wage workers who lived in the area were also being monitored, he said, and so far there has not been an issue regarding essential items for them.
However, trucks carrying essentials from Utility Stores have been arranged for residents so they cold be provided edible goods and other necessities at discounted rates and shops selling essentials such as groceries and green groceries, baked goods, meat and dairy products were also allowed to open.
These shops are also under surveillance to prevent the spread of coronavirus Shafqaat said adding msques are also closed and ulema are cooperating with the administration.
