Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has increased its Covid-19 testing capacity from 100 to 300 per day and it will be further increased to 500 tests per day during the coming days.
According to a statement, a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to review province’s Covid-19 situation and future course of action, was informed about increase in the testing capacity.
The meeting was attended by Health Minister Taimur Slaeem Jhagrha, Adviser to Chief Minister Ajmal Khan Wazir, Corp Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood, Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz, IGP Sanaullah Abbassi and administrative secretaries of relief, home and health departments.
The meeting was informed that 215 quarantine centres were established in the province to cater to the needs of suspected patients of Covid-19. It was said that presently 24 centres were active.
The meeting was informed that medical tests of the majority of pilgrims, quarantined in Dera Ismail Khan, were negative and they were being sent to their homes to live in home quarantine for the next two weeks.
The meeting decided to provide free ration to the families of the individuals kept at government quarantine facilities.
About awarding risk allowance to health and rescue workers, it was decided that such a package would be announced within a couple of days after finance department completed homework and calculation.
The meeting also decided to devise a mechanism to regulate private vehicles plying within cities. It stressed the need for evolving a mechanism in co-ordination with federal government and other provinces to safely exchange members of Tablighi Jamaat.
The meeting reviewed the arrangements put in place for the people expected to come from across Torkham after opening of border as well as for the people coming by air to the province after resumption of international flight operations.
The meeting was informed that as many as 215 quarantine centres, 554 high dependency units and 2,400 isolation beds were arranged for coronavirus patients across the province.
The meeting was told that the number of ventilators in public sector hospitals of the province had been increased two-fold that would be further increased on war footings.
It was said that the in the light of the decision made in the last meeting of provincial cabinet, almost 15,000 volunteers were identified by the health department and the district administrations for rising rapid response teams.
The chief minister directed the health authorities to increase the testing capacity for coronavirus to 2,000 per day to be able to deal with any unwanted situation in future.
PDMA: Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has dispatched 50,000 N-95 face masks to health and other relevant departments.
PDMA Director General Perwaiz Khan said that 40,000 N-95 masks were dispatched to health department while the remaining 10,000 were sent to other departments including Rescue 1122.
Vendors sell vegetables along a street during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown against the Covid-19 coronavirus on the outskirts of Islamabad yesterday.
