ISLAMABAD: The capital administration has decided that Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms will be isolated at home.

In this regard, a standard operating procedure (SOP) has been issued to ensure safety of Covid-19 patients and healthcare staff and contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The purpose of the SOP is to provide a framework for public and private hospitals, officials said, adding all hospitals were directed to adopt the SOP.

The hospital concerned will counsel the patient regarding home quarantine.

The patient has to be told to consult the hospital physician in case of worsening of the conditions.

Patients will be told to consult concerned hospital’s physician in case of worsening of conditions, says capital admin

If a patient during the routine consultation with co-morbid conditions of diabetes, hypertension, angiography, dialysis, cancer treatment and organ transplant consultation turn out to be positive, the same SOP will be applied on them.

Meanwhile, the tally of the confirmed cases in the capital reached 521 from 485 while the number of suspected cases jumped to 2,037 from 1,970.

The virus spread in three new areas - F-13, G-15 and Phonlgran - and one case each was reported from there. Besides, a police recruit residing at the Aabpra police station also tested positive.

Six cases each were reported from Bhara Kahu, F-7 and I-9 while two cases each were reported from G-11 and Loi Bher and one each from Bari Imam, E-11, F-10, G-10, G-8, G-9, I-10, Rawat, Sohan and Tarlai.

The under-training constable of the capital police was was among the 1,100 recruits of the capital police and included in a batch sent to Hangu for training.

All recruits getting training in Islamabad or Hangu were sent to their hometowns after the coronavirus outbreak but later recalled to the capital to join the force to meet to shortage of manpower.

The recruit returned to the capital on April 26 and was sent to the Aabpara police station.

On Thursday, he visited a hospital and got himself tested which showed him infected with the virus.

A police officer told Dawn that six more officials at the Aabpara police station had the symptoms. Tests of these officials were also conducted but the results are awaited.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Omer Khan confirmed that the constable had tested positive and the barrack where he was residing had been sealed. Besides, tests of 20 other officials residing in the barrack were also being conducted.

Moreover, the capital administration activated the Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) teams in the union councils (UCs) of Bhara Kahu, Cherah, Kirpa, Koral, Phulgran and Tumair to effectively stem the spread of the coronavirus under the directives of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat said multiple teams of the RSPN had been formed and dispatched to carry out rescue and relief activities in the UCs. The teams would perform duties in their respective areas in collaboration with the local administration, he added.

Cases continued to rise in Rawalpindi

Another 62 patients tested positive and 10 were discharged from Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) after recovering from the disease, while a 73-year-old man died of Covid-19 on Thursday.

The deceased belonged to Mohallah Naseerabad. He was admitted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

As many as 62 persons tested positive for Covid-19 from different parts of district.

District health authorities along with Rescue 1122, shifted the patients to RIU and Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) for medical treatment.

The number of confirmed positive cases in Rawalpindi reached 880; 41 people have died and 230 patients have been discharged after recovery.

Presently, 609 patients are under treatment in hospitals and 212 patients are under quarantine at their houses.

Around 361 suspected patients were also brought to three hospitals of Rawalpindi and their samples sent to National Institute of Health (NIH) and BBH laboratory for Covid-19 serology, their reports will come after three to four days.

However, officials from the district health authority said that 717 people’s tests have come out negative in the last three days and 240 tested positive. Samples from close contacts of all confirmed patients were also sent for testing, they added.

The local administration kept 1,473 persons under quarantine, who were close contacts of confirmed patients, including 1,258 people isolated in their houses, 212 in hospitals and three in quarantine centres. Samples from 24 Tableeghi Jamaat members were sent to NIH and so far 136 have been declared safe from the virus.

Talking to Dawn, Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood said that the government was striving hard to provide all facilities to patients and prevent spread of the virus.

“Social distancing and washing hands is the only solution and people should adopt this. Even after the pandemic, people will have to adopt safety measures for the next few months, if not a year,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020