ISLAMABAD (Omar Cheema) has taken a stand on dealing with the Corona virus, taking measures that are standard for other provincial governments.news world ahmed
An excellent bureaucrat in Lahore says that even the top officers in Punjab would agree that if a province is exercising their mind and taking independent decisions, it is Sindh.
Another officer said that Sindh is making decisions and we are just trying to duplicate. In the cases we work only because they are happening in Sindh.
Background talks with officers in both provinces have shown that the arrangements in Sindh are far better than the measures taken in Punjab.
From the arrival of travelers from the overseas to the fine airport to the monitoring and treatment of confirmed cases, Sindh has formulated policies that are highly rewarding and public friendly. For example, the Karachi airport initially had the federal government's health staff.
The screening done at this time was not satisfactory. Passengers were required to submit medical declaration forms and undergo thermal scanning under the federal government's screening arrangements. Sindh thought that was enough.current world news
The provincial government has appointed its own medical staff, which conducts medical questions and screening for corona symptoms. Once cleared, travelers will be given instructions for the next 14 days based on the instructions.current world news
The story does not end here. He receives two messages daily from the provincial government (one in English and one in Urdu) for 14 days in which he is asked to contact the numbers given in case of cough, fever, pain or shortness of breath.
On the contrary, passengers at the airports in Punjab only had to go through the federal government's proposed screening (declaration form and thermal scanning). If cleared, they would be allowed to go home.
Only once did they receive a call from the provincial government to see if they had a problem and where to contact in case of any complaint.
After that no contact is made until the test comes in positive. Even a senior Punjab government official acknowledged that this timely telephonic screening did not help suspicious people to be sensitive to its implications.
As far as the identification of suspected patients is concerned, both provinces have different strategies to deal with it.
For example, all private and public hospitals in Sindh have been instructed to inform the District Response Team whenever they encounter a suspected patient. The team will approach the patient and interview him and collect a sample for the test.
All testing is done in Sindh. If the results come out positive, the patient is given two options to either isolate himself at home or get into the hospital.
Patients only need to be admitted to the hospital in critical condition. Those who isolate themselves at their homes are regularly contacted for the most up-to-date situation and after a certain period of time they are tested to find out if they have recovered.
They are cleared once their negative results are confirmed.
Their co-workers are diagnosed and they are tested to see if they have the disease. Anyone who has a positive test has to go through the same procedure.
In Punjab, anyone who has done any test from anywhere, has been instructed by the laboratories to inform the Department of Health regarding positive cases. What happens next becomes an unforgettable story.
British Pakistani Salman Hassan was the first confirmed case in Punjab. On his arrival in Pakistan, he conducted a self-test with the Chaghatai lab which informed the government as his test came out positive.
Salman did not know this. Following the guidelines of the British National Health Service, he isolated himself at his home.
He wrote to The News that the Additional Secretary Health came to his house at 12 pm. They agreed that it was too late so they would go to the hospital in the morning.
