ISI Technology Used To Track COVID-19 Suspects
Around 5,000 potential COVID-19 carriers have been traced by the government using tracking technology previously utilized by the Inter-Services Intelligence to trace terrorists. The technology managed to identify patients as well as people who have come into contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients. The accuracy of the track and trace system will be ascertained once law enforcement bodies reach the identified potential carriers.
3 More Medics Test Positive
Two doctors, including a female doctor, working in the dedicated coronavirus ward of the Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital tested positive for COVID-19. In Sahiwal, a 21-year-old paramedic at the Arifwala Tehsil Headquarters also tested positive and was promptly shifted to an isolation facility. Meanwhile, a female doctor from Bahawalpur contracted and lost her life to coronavirus during treatment at the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi/
Vehari Doctors Develop Face Shield
Doctors at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Vehari, Punjab, have developed a low-cost face shield to protect frontline medics while tending to coronavirus patients. Estimated to cost just Rs. 25 against Rs. 1,000 for imported face shields, doctors claim it provides adequate protection. The face shields will be developed and distributed to other isolation centers – doctors state no health professional in Vehari has contracted the virus so far.
Violence At Expo Quarantine
Quarantined patients at the Lahore Expo Center field hospital smashed windows and doors in a bid to leave the facility before completing their quarantine period. Patients claim that they had already tested negative, however, they were being unnecessarily detained for an extended period of time. On the other hand, the Expo Center field hospital management stated that as per quarantine rules, patients who test negative upon arrival must undergo a quarantine period after which they have to be tested again before being discharged as the virus takes around two weeks to incubate.
Senior officials from Mayo Hospital managed to quell the ‘riot’ through negotiations, after which the patients returned to quarantine. Management-related that most of the protesters were Tableeghi Jamaat attendees and that this was not the first time they have caused a ruckus.
Returning Pakistanis Test Positive
259 out of 3,554 Pakistanis returning to Punjab from 22 countries tested positive for COVID-19 and were dispatched to various state isolation facilities. 767 passengers from Dubai, Qatar, the UAE, Sri Lanka and New York USA who arrived on April 28 and 29 were quarantined for testing – results awaited.