SWABI: The residents of Bada village in Gadoon Amazai belt were confined to their homes on Thursday after a case of novel coronavirus was reported there a day before.

Deputy commissioner Shahid Mehmood told mediapersons that the area had been locked down keeping in view the threat of spread of the disease. The infected person was identified as Mr Khalid.

An office order issued from the DC said that it was mandatory to take all possible measures in addition to the ones already taken to contain further spread of coronavirus on war footings.

The blood samples of Mr Khalid’s 15 family members had been taken by health officials and sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, for coronavirus test. Besides, their neighbours have been asked to remain in their homes while the police personnel were monitoring movement of the people in the area.

Cricketer Yasir Shah stresses self-quarantine

The family and the neighbours would remain confined to their homes till arrival of the results from the NIH.

The history of Mr Khalid had been traced and the people he had met after his return from Saudi Arabia on March 17.

“The administration has taken all precautionary measures and confined the people to their homes to avoid Mardan-like situation.

“We are not allowing people to leave or enter Mr Khlaid’s Mohallah,” an official said.

District police officer Shahid Imran said that all entry and exit points of Bada village had been blocked and no one was allowed to violate the district administration’s instruction in the present critical situation. Tehsil municipal officer, Topi, Mohammad Fazil said that all houses in Mr Khalid’s neighbourhood had been sprayed while the area’s mosque was also cleaned.

Meanwhile, national cricket star Yasir Shah, who belongs to Swabi district, said here on Thursday that self-discipline and self-quarantine were extremely necessary in the present environment of rapidly increasing number of coronavirus patients in the country.

Speaking at a gathering arranged on the directives of KP’s special secretary of local government Mustasim Billah and later talking to this correspondent, Yasir Shah said that as citizens they must realise the complex nature of the coronavirus and its spread from the infected person.

“The unknown infected patient of novel coronavirus could infect all those people who meet him,” he said, adding that the virus threat should be taken very seriously.

The cricketer urged the people to follow the government’s instructions to protect themselves from being infected by the virus.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2020