An assistant commissioner, one magistrate in quarantine after testing positive
Zubair Qureshi
For the last four months, teams of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and the District health department are in the field fighting coronavirus in their respective capacity—raising awareness, sealing the areas, imposing fines and tracing the contacts of the covid-19 positive cases.
The task is huge, varied, multi-faceted and requires a round-the-clock vigilance. The fact that Islamabad is an international city housing foreign missions, international offices of the UN and the non-government organizations (NGOs) makes their work all the more challenging.
However, as they say every challenge brings in its wake a new opportunity the residents of the federal capital have come to discover the wonderful team of district administration and the police department are there for their help in case of emergency. Two young officers of the ICT, Assistant Commissioner Secretariat Asad Ullah and Magistrate Abdul Hadi tested positive during COVID-19 duty and are presently in quarantine. However, despite grave risk to their lives, the ICT team under the leadership of another committed officer Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat is unfazed and undeterred by these risks and trying its utmost in managing a seemingly unmanageable job.
“Asad Ullah and Abdul Hadi are our star officers. They contracted the virus while in the line of duty. Abdul Hadi was deputed at the quarantine in Chatta Bakhtawar while Asad Ullah was monitoring COVID-19 situation in Aabpara where he contracted the virus. Both of them are currently in quarantine and their condition is stated to be stable,” said Hamza Shafqaat while paying tributes to his ‘outstanding officers.’
Abdul Hadi’s job was to escort the passengers who arrive at the international airport to the government-designated quarantine centres. He made sure they faced no problem while in isolation, said the DC. Likewise Asad Ullah also remained actively engaged in the field checking shops and hotels, food outlets etc and though both the officers followed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) yet the virus got them.
District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia is also on-call and his team of health workers is out in the periphery and residential sectors tracing contacts of the covid patients.
A dedicate public health worker whose endeavours have been recognized even by the US Secretary of State Pompeo (who mentioned him in a tweet as a Fulbright scholar) Dr Zaeem told Pakistan Observer contact tracing was the most challenging, delicate and professional job and his team was doing this in a purely scientific way.
Even on Tuesday the DHO teams were busy in investigating 288 cases, tracing their contacts and working to check the virus spread.
