Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal met Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday and discussed prevention and precautionary measures against coronavirus.
Both the chief ministers informed each other of their respective province’s readiness to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. It was agreed upon during the meeting that combating coronavirus is a national issue and should be deal with by working together.
Both leaders also agreed to cooperate in sharing information about visitors coming from Iran with CM Balochistan informing that visitors go through a quarantine period of 14 days at the Taftan border where they are screened and provided all basic facilities.
Coordination between both provinces for the return of visitors belonging to Sindh was also discussed.
CM Murad Ali Shah said that 2,300 travellers who have recently returned to Sindh from China and Iran have been contacted and they are being tested for cough, flu and other indicators of coronavirus. He praised Balochistan government’s efforts to facilitate visitors in Taftan border adding that a newly built 140-Bed hospital in Karachi has been converted into an isolation centre as preparation for the viral outbreak.
Meanwhile, Murad Ali Shah on Friday said the first patient of coronavirus was tested on Friday and most probably he would be discharged from the hospital on Saturday, if the doctors allowed him.
This he said in the 9th taskforce meeting on coronavirus held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sindh at CM House. It was attended by Minister Health Dr Azra Pechuho, Advisor Law Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, IG Sindh Mushtaq Maher, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Home Secretary Usman Chachar, Secretary Home Zahid Abbasi, DG PDMA Salman Shah, representatives of WHO, Corps 5, Rangers, Airport administration, Civil Aviation, FIA and other concerned agencies.
Chief Minister expressing his satisfaction and happiness congratulated the recovered patient, his family members, the doctors and the health department and other team members who have been working day and night to contain the threat. “This is good news you have given today but yesterday you had given bad news by diagnosing third case of coronavirus in Sindh,” he said and hoped the other patients would also recover.
Secretary Health briefing the chief chair said that the one case came positive yesterday had travelled Iran from February 12 to 24, 2020. 15 contacts with the patient were traced, of them five high risk contacts were tested and fortunately all of them came negative.
To a question the chief minister was told that 96 pilgrims had travelled with the patient. The chief minister directed Minister Health to send their details to the deputy commissioners and asked them to trace them and isolate them till their necessary medical investigation was conducted.
The chief minister was told that 13 samples of suspects of different districts such as Kambar-Shahdadkot, Nawabshah, Jacobabad and Karachi were sent for lab test and fortunately all of them diagnosed as negative.
It was pointed out that 800 pilgrims from Taftan would reach at Jacobabad on Sunday. The chief minister directed health department to make arrangement for keeping them in quarantine anywhere in Sukkur division and provide them all facilities, residence, food, medicines till they complete 14 days mandatory isolation.
The chief minister directed chief secretary to get all the arrangements done through district divisional and district administration. He also directed IG police to issue necessary instructions to the police for making security arrangements.
It may be noted that the 800 pilgrims would come from Taftan to Sindh via Jacoabad on special buses.
The health department has conducted 94 tests of coronavirus suspects till Friday and test of those suspects are conducted who have travel history of Iran or have remained in closed contact with the pilgrims.
