–Bilawal lauds Balochistan govt’s decision, says it’s according to ground situation
QUETTA: The Balochistan government has decided to extend ongoing lockdown in the province for further 15 days with effect from Tuesday.
According to Provincial Home and Tribal Affairs Department, the lockdown will remain intact till 19th of this month in order to control further spread of coronavirus pandemic.
Balochistan government Spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said that the coronavirus is spreading at an alarming rate and in order to stem it, effective measures such as social distancing and isolation should be practiced. He said that the provincial government is extending the lockdown until May 19.
“COVID-19 (is) rapidly spreading in #Balochistan. The only medicine & solution so far has proven to be isolation, social distancing and lockdown. Hence Balochistan government has decided to extend lockdown for further 15 days till 19th May,” he tweeted.
The Balochistan government had earlier warned that it would extend the lockdown due to the rise in cases. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal had said that the number of locally-transmitted cases in the province was increasing slowly but that lockdown restrictions could only be eased if people cooperate with the government.
It was through random testing that the Balochistan Health Department learned that the locally transmitted cases had increased, he had said.
“Our testing capacity is improving so we’re conducting more tests,” Kamal had added, stating that a lot needed to be done to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Health Department also decided to only test those citizens who are showing COVID-19 symptoms due to a lack of testing capacity.
According to a statement released by the provincial health department, the Fatima Jinnah Laboratory has been closed for the public — the lab was the only facility where residents could get themselves tested for the respiratory illness.
“Those suspected of having contracted the virus will only be tested after they have completed a mandatory 14-day quarantine period at home,” the statement said.
It added that the decision has been taken due to a lack of testing capacity at the laboratory; the results of more than 2,000 tests have already been delayed.
The statement, however, contradicted claims made by Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani who — while speaking at a press conference in Quetta earlier in the day — had said that the province will no longer “face a dearth of testing kits and equipment”.
“We had asked the federal government to provide us with 50,000 PCR kits. But, we did not receive the entire shipment,” Shahwani said.
However, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has now given us testing kits, he said, adding that the federal government had also given 14,000 testing kits. “Our labs and machinery are increasing,” he said.
Shahwani maintained that a reshuffle within the health department staff had caused the delay in test results for the past two days, adding that the staff has been working tirelessly.
He added that the government was in the process of setting up another laboratory at Bolan Medical College which will ramp up the province’s testing capacity. “Our testing capacity will then increase by 400-450 tests per day,” he said.
BILAWAL LAUDS BALOCHISTAN GOVT’S DECISION:
Lauding Balochistan government’s decision, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that Balochistan government’s decision to extend lockdown for another 15 days was in accordance with the ground situation because “so far the only effective defence against corona has proven to be isolation, social distancing and lockdown”.
In a statement, the PPP chief stressed that the federal government should help Balochistan government in increasing and establishing its testing capacity, isolation and quarantine centres through logistic support so that the country’s poorest and largest province could cope with the alarming conditions, it is facing alongside other provinces.
Bilawal demanded that cash transfers should be made immediately similar to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), to coronavirus affectees, especially the daily wagers, unemployed and the most deserving people.
