Corona cases may spiral to 50,000 by 25th, govt tells SC

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The country could face up to 50,000 coronavirus cases by the next three weeks, the government told the Supreme Court on Saturday in a report on its national action plan put into action to combat the pandemic, as the tally surpassed 2,700, with 41 fatalities.

By April 25, the number of coronavirus cases was feared to reach 50,000, the report stated, which explained the situation arising in the wake of the outbreak and the severity of suspected cases.

According to breakdown provided in the report, around 7,000 cases were expected to be critical in nature while some 2,500 could be a cause for concern. The government estimated a further 41,000 cases could be of a mild nature.

The report noted confirmed cases were expected to be lower than that of European countries. The report claimed the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) had started off early preparations to deal with the pandemic. The efforts, it added, included establishing standard operating procedures for the screening of people at all points of entry and issuing guidelines for contact management to all provinces.

It further stated the government was trying to maximise Covid-19 testing capacity, as testing facilities had been set up in all the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. It added indigenously developed testing kits by the National University of Science and Technology had been sent to DRAP Technical Assessment Committee. If these testing kits were approved, they would be made available to the public, it said. The government also emphasised the need for training burial workers and religious leaders on proper protocols for burial of virus patients. It said some 13,000 surveillance centres had been set up across the country which would submit data to the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad. The EOC had also been made responsible to submit daily situation reports and to conduct data analysis and risk assessments. “Funds from World Bank and Asian Development Bank were also used for strengthening preparedness and response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report said.

The federal government in the report also stated it had put in place an emergency plan costing $366 million and guidelines had been prepared in consultation with medical experts. “All the airports have special counters to monitor coronavirus,” the report mentioned, adding around 222 suspected patients had been traced thanks to entry and exit point checking at airports.

The areas adjacent to Iran and along Balochistan border had declared an emergency to cope with infected individuals entering the country, it said.

Preparations were made to place patients in 154 districts under quarantine, it added.

In a media briefing later on Saturday, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza advised public not to pay heed to future predictions about intensity of the pandemic. He said the government was closely monitoring the situation. He urged people to follow guidelines to curb the outbreak in the country. He pointed out most of hand sanitisers available in the market were found to be of low quality. He emphasised the need for adequate use of safety gears provided to medical professionals.