Coronavirus: Chitralis living elsewhere advised against visit to native district

CHITRAL: Senior officials here on Sunday asked the Chitralis living in other parts of the country or abroad not to come to the district at least for three weeks to protect the locals from the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Speaking at a joint press conference here, Lower Chitral Deputy Commissioner Naveed Ahmad and District Police Officer (DPO) Waseem Riaz Khan said it would be a good deed on the part of the Chitral residents living outside the district to avoid visiting their relatives here in the prevailing situation when the viral disease is spreading. The officials said the district administration and the Chitral Scouts jointly countering the coronavirus pandemic and taking every necessary step to protect the residents of the remote area from the outbreak.

They added that it would endanger the lives of the locals if the people living now in the corona-affected areas started coming to the district. The officials said Tablighis (religious preachers) from other districts and Raiwind could be the biggest risk to the health of local residents in the district in the prevailing circumstances. They said the residents should trust the district administration, follow Section 144 and stay home to help control the spread of the disease.

“Around 100 individuals come daily to Chitral via Lowari Tunnel despite our repeated requests, which is a dangerous act on the part of the visitors,” the officials said. They said those coming to Chitral were being screened at the Ashriat point and then the suspected patients shifted to the quarantines established in Drosh and Chitral towns to spend 14 days under observation according to the protocol.

The deputy commissioner said that there were 94 individuals in the two quarantine centres of Chitral city and Drosh. The officials urged the visitors to cooperate with the district administration and do not hide any information about their travel history and ailments so that proper care could be extended.

They said that there was no shortage of food items in the district and vowed that strict action would be taken against the hoarders and profiteers. District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Haiderul Mulk said that until now no confirmed coronavirus case in the district had been reported. He said that government had taken preventive as well as treatment measures to cope with the volatile situation caused by the coronavirus.

Major Usman of the Chitral Scouts said that personnel of the security forces were extending every help to the district administration in the fight against coronavirus pandemic.