LAHORE: The Punjab government has set up quarantine centers in different cities of the province to isolate suspected coronavirus patients in areas under its jurisdiction, said a spokesperson of the provincial authority on Wednesday, adding that the one established in Multan is the biggest in the country.
“The government has set up quarantine centers in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lahore, Muzaffargarh, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and other cities of the province,” Sabir Bokhari, a spokesperson of the provincial administration, told Arab News. “The biggest center has been set up in Multan where 6,000 people can be kept at one time. The staff at these facilities have also been given special kits and medical equipment to deal with different emergencies.”
The provincial administration has also set up a quarantine center at Dera Ghazi Khan that can host 780 patients while another center in Bahawalpur will be able to accommodate 1,276 pilgrims coming from the Taftan border.
The centers have been set up to save citizens from the spread of coronavirus in the country. The outbreak that began in a small Chinese town of Wuhan was recently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization due to the rising number of infections across the world.
In Punjab, the authorities declared 26 confirmed cases of coronavirus until Wednesday afternoon.
“There are 26 confirmed patients of coronavirus in the province. Out of these, 20 are pilgrims [who returned from Iran], five are from Lahore and another one is from Gujrat. Thirty-nine suspected patients are in isolation at the moment,” reads the latest bulletin by the Department of Primary and Secondary Healthcare.
The province’s apex committee on coronavirus met in Lahore on Wednesday under Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. Among others, the meeting was also attended by Corps Commander Lahore, Lt. Gen. Majid Ehsan, General Officer Commanding 10-Division, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Aneeq-ur-Rehman Malik, DG Rangers Punjab, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Amir Majeed, Law Minister Raja Basharat and Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid.
“During the meeting, the chief minister said the quarantine centers had been set up in southern Punjab and that his administration was doing its best to defeat the virus. The corps commander said that the military establishment was extending its full cooperation to the government since it was a national cause to overcome the disease,” Muhammad Rafiullah, the chief minister’s public relations officer, told Arab News. “The establishment of a quarantine center at Taftan was also considered during the meeting while another proposal to convert the Hajj terminal in Lahore into a temporary isolation unit was also reviewed.”
Fearing increase in number of suspected coronavirus cases in Lahore, the authorities recently visited the campuses of Engineering University and GC University at Kala Shah Kaku, some 19 kilometers west of Lahore, and declared them fit for setting up quarantine camps.
“The commissioner and deputy commissioner have visited the sites. These education facilities can be converted into quarantine centers, if required. Arrangements are complete to meet any urgency or emergency arising from the threat of coronavirus,” Imran Maqbool, spokesperson at the DC office in Lahore, told Arab News.
Punjab sets up biggest quarantine center in Pakistan to fight coronavirus
https://arab.news/8q37p
Punjab sets up biggest quarantine center in Pakistan to fight coronavirus
- Provincial administration officials say the facility in Multan can accommodate 6,000 patients at once
- The country's military establishment is fully cooperating with the civilian administration to defeat the pandemic, says Corpse Commander Lahore
Pakistan warns of landslides, avalanches in northwest amid snowfall forecast
- Provincial authority warns snowfall may cause road closures, slippery conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts in next 24 hours
- Disaster management authority urges people to exercise caution, avoid unnecessary traveling during next 24 hours in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
PESHAWAR: Pakistan has warned of landslides and avalanches in the hilly areas of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in the next 24 hours, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Monday, advising the public to remain cautious and avoid unnecessary travel.
In a weather forecast issued by the PDMA KP, the authority warned that snowfall may cause road closure and slippery conditions in the northwestern Naran, Kaghan, Dir, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Shangla and Galliyat districts in the next 24 hours.
“Possibility of landslides/avalanches in hilly areas of the province during the [24 hours] period,” PDMA said.
“Travelers and tourists are advised to remain extra cautious and avoid unnecessary travel during the period.”
It also warned of foggy conditions in patches at scattered places over Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda Swabi and D.I. Khan districts during late nights and early mornings in northwestern Pakistan.
Pakistan, which contributes less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, is recognized among countries that are most vulnerable to climate change.
Scientists say rising temperatures are making South Asia’s monsoon rains more erratic and intense, increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides in mountainous regions such as KP and northern Gilgit-Baltistan.
Authorities in the past have urged people to avoid northern areas or exercise caution in travel when weather conditions are expected to deteriorate in winter season.
At least 21 people, including nine children, died in freezing temperatures after being stuck in their vehicles in the Pakistani hill station of Murree in January 2022 when the roads became impassable.
