HYDERABAD: Three coronavirus patients, among them a man, his son and a member of Tableeghi Jamaat, have been discharged from quarantine facilities after having recovered from the virus infection.

An infected pregnant woman lodged at a quarantine centre in Larkana was also discharged on Friday.

The man had recently arrived from United Kingdom and his son had contracted the virus from him. The father had been under treatment at a private hospital in Karachi while his son remained in quarantine at home in Latifabad Unit-3.

According to a family member, after the treatment the man and his son tested negative for the virus. They had been at their home awaiting the report.

The third patient, member of Tableeghi Jamaat, who was lodged at the isolation ward in Liaquat University Hospital’s (LUH) city branch has also recovered and discharged from the hospital.

In recent tests, 13 suspected patients tested positive for the virus and were shifted to isolation ward at Isra Hospital. With these 13, Hyderabad’s tally of positive cases — tested here for one or the other reason — stood at 182.

These 13 were among 103 persons whose samples were collected by health officials from district health office. In all, 117 tests were done at Diagnostic and Research Laboratory and of them 13 were found positive.

Ninety patients have been kept at Kohsar Hospital’s quarantine centre while 40 including the 13 fresh patients are kept in Isra Hospital.

Meanwhile, a complete lockdown was witnessed in the city for three and a half hours from 12pm to 3.30pm on Friday and all shops including grocers, milk and meat shops, supermarkets and filling stations which otherwise were exempted from closure were forcibly shut to avert Friday congregational prayers in mosques.

Personnel of police and Rangers patrolled the streets and stood alert at main roundabouts. They did not allow people to gather, nor any vehicle to move during these hours.

Many people were seen arguing with personnel of law-enforcement agencies in the areas of Market, Tower, Timber and Cloth markets, Phuleli, Paretabad, Latifabad and Qasimabad, asking them to let them go to their destinations.

But the law-enforcers made people stay away from main roads and made those who had come on roads go back. In some incidents, policemen used batons to frighten away people and beat some stubborn young motorcyclists to keep them away from roads.

They did not allow people to use roads till 3.30pm in Latifabad and city areas. Main markets, bazaars and thoroughfares remained sealed with barbed wires and tents to stop motorists and commuters.

People organised Friday prayers at their houses in light of Sindh government’s directive to discourage congregational prayers at mosques in a bid to contain spread of coronavirus pandemic.

Hyderabad’s Senior Superintendent of Police Adeel Hussain Chandio visited Haider Chowk, Kohinoor Chowk, Tower Market and other parts of the city to inspect measures to enforce the lockdown.

After 3.40pm, grocers, milk and dairy shops and petrol pumps started opening and life almost came back to normal in many areas where people were seen moving about their routine lives and youths were seen indulging in games such as cricket, cards, chess on roadsides and streets in the areas of Latifabad Unit Numbers 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12 and others.

LARKANA: The test of a pregnant woman admitted to the Shaikh Zayed Hospital came negative for coronavirus and she was allowed to go home on Friday, said sources.

A source at the district health office said that the test of a doctor from Dokri also came negative. The health officials’ team had on Thursday collected samples of five people including the doctor and the woman. The test results of two other doctors and one patient was yet to be received, said the DHO office.

The test results of nine positive Covid-19 cases whose samples were taken for the second time after completion of 14 days quarantine centre at SMBBMU Arija campus on Airport Road were expected to come on Saturday.

The DHO office said the test results of 27 members of a family whose elder was currently undergoing treatment for the virus infection at Dow University Hospital in Karachi were yet to come.

In another development, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University decided to establish a quarantine centre for the coronavirus patients in Nusrat Bhutto Girls Hostel of Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur.

Dr Hafeez Abro, spokesman for the university said on Friday that the varsity Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Aneela Attaur Rehman had held a meeting with the medical superintendent of GMMMC Hospital to discuss the issue.

He said that a committee had been formed with members Prof Dr Altaf Shaikh, Prof Dr Safia Maqsood, Dr Tahmina Mahar and Dr Faiza and tasked to contact students and their parents to get the hostel vacated and take away their belongings so that the quarantine centre could be set up. At present, the students were on vacation, said Dr Abro.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2020