–PPP chief says social distancing, mass testing only way to contain pandemic
–Says Sindh govt will take care of daily wagers living in self-isolation by providing ration
KARACHI: After the Sindh government imposed a partial lockdown in the province, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday urged the federal government to lock down the entire country in a bid to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Addressing a press conference at Sindh Assembly, the PPP chief said there was a dire need to work towards mitigating the spread of the contagion and the federal government will have to bring “some changes” in its action plan to fight the virus.
He said that the federal government needed to focus on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 by focusing on social distancing and isolation, and to maximise testing capabilities — a “two-pronged approach”.
“I would like to emphasise that coronavirus is an extremely serious and life-threatening issue […] It is ten times worse than the flu,” said Bilawal, stressing that the mortality rate, while still not known definitively, is much higher than the flu.
The PPP chairman said it was important to remember that the disease does not only affect the elderly and those with underlying conditions but can affect anyone. “Of the two people who have died from the disease, one was 36 years old and one was 50 years of age, which means they were not very advanced in their years.”
The PPP chairman said those countries identified and contained those who had the disease or were suspected to have it, adding the other measure taken by them was that of mass testing.
Bilawal said Pakistan has reached a level where there will now be “community spread. “The cases do not only point towards those who returned from foreign travels but also those who interacted with them.”
Furthermore, the recent spike can be attributed to those who were under quarantine in Balochistan — after having come in from Iran. “When they came towards Sindh we kept them in isolation.”
“Unfortunately they were not tested and many were not identified (to have the disease). We have done that now which is why you are witnessing a surge in cases.”
Speaking about the provincial government’s efforts to contain the virus, he said that the Sindh government had identified 34 suspected patients early on — when there was news of the outbreak in Wuhan — and had tested them. All tests had turned up negative.
“Sindh government on its own has arranged 10,000 testing kits,” he said.
He said that when the virus spread to Iran, the Sindh government obtained a list from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of citizens who had come from Iran. “We identified them and had them self-quarantine at home for those who did not show symptoms and for those who did, we had them tested.”
He also assured the daily wagers that the government would take care of them and will provide food supplies to the poor during their self-isolation at home. “I assure you the Sindh government will take care of you,” he said.
“We call upon those of you who can help the Sindh government, to please extend a helping hand,” said Bilawal.
He directed the Sindh government officials to “ensure that no daily wage worker is laid off”. “You must make it incumbent upon private organisations as well to ensure that their employees’ salaries are timely disbursed.”
Bilawal said that the Sindh government is aware of the economic impact of the outbreak and will take “concrete measures to tackle it”. “We will need to take some serious steps to keep the economy afloat,” he said.
