LAHORE: In what appears to be a satisfactory development, the Punjab government on Sunday discharged around 100 quarantined people, a majority of whom were preachers of the Tableeghi Jamaat, from a quarantine centre set up in District Public School (DPS) in Kasur.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the district administration arranged six coaster buses for their return to their areas and said that the suspected patients were cleared to go home after they tested negative.
They said that all discharged people were tested thrice, once every few days, and were only sent home after fully ensuring that there was no danger.
It is pertinent to mention here that ten Nigerian preachers, including five women, were discharged on April 4 from the same quarantine centre as they were tested negative for coronavirus.
Some 47 people, including foreigners and 37 people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), were shifted to the DPS quarantine centre on in the Officers Colony on March 29 whereas a total of 123 members of Tablighi Jamaat were quarantined in various parts of the district.
According to the district administration, the discharged Nigerians were shifted to Raiwind to get their passports.
Talking to Pakistan Today, one of the discharged pilgrims said that the district administration had made exemplary arrangements for all the housed suspects in the quarantine centre.
He said that they were provided timely and standard breakfast and two times standard meals, besides taking special care of hygienic.
The preacher confirmed that he and 21 others of his jamaat were on their way to home to Dera Ismail Khan (D.I.) Khan in a coaster. “Separate coasters are arranged for people from various parts of the country, including Quetta, Karachi and Waziristan,” he added.
He also said that a police mobile team was in front of each coaster and remained in constant contact with the concerned district administration to hand them over the concerned authorities in their home towns.
He said that it was worrisome when they were first quarantined on being coronavirus suspects; however, their treatment remained satisfactory and the stay was not hard at all whereas now they are happily going to their families.
He revealed that he had not informed his family to keep them from worrying but could not wait to call his elder brother to tell him of his arrival.
