Altaf Hamid Rao.
People strictly advised to stay at homes to avert spread of the virus,
MIRPUR (AJK): The only AJK-based Corona Virus patient, admitted in Isolation Center at New City Mirpur medical complex, is getting well soon following the rapid recovery.
This was disclosed by Mirpur Deputy Commissioner Raja Tahir Mumtaz and Senior Superintendent of Police Irfan Salim while addressing an emergent meeting of the city notables belonging to all spheres of life, held at the DC office Saturday morning.
Medical Superintendent Mirpur Div. Headquarter Hospital Dr. Farooq Ahmed Noor, ADC (G) Raja Qaiser Aurangzeb Khan and Mirpur Divisional Director PID Mirpur Javed Mallick assisted the two top officials of the district administration apprising the audience of the updated situation to combat the virus through the precautionary measures and arrangements to avert the threat of spread of the virus in the city and rest of the district.
The city elite including Chairman of the Kashmiri human rights outfit – The Jinnah Foundation AJK Dr. Amin Chaudhry, President MCCI Ch. Javed Iqbal, Presidents of their respective factions of the local traders organizations (Markazi Anjuman e Tajraan) including Ch. Mahmood Ahmed, Ch. Muhammad Naeem, Sohail Shujah Mujahid, Raja Khalid Mahmood and Asif Dar, senior journalists Altaf Hamid Rao, Muhammad Ramzan Chughtai, Ch. Khalid, Kashmir Press Club President Sajaad Jiraal, Member Board of Governance AJK Press Foundation Arshad Mahmood Butt, PTI Mirpur leaders Ch. Ansar Sarim and Jabaar Minhas, Muslim Conference leader Shakoor Mughal, Jamaat e Islami’s Raja Altaf Ahmed and others while sharing suggested to the AJK government to focus for transporting the virus suspects belonging to AJK, pouring in to the State from affected countries, to the Quarantine Centers set up in their respective home district where due arrangements have been made by the state health authorities for medication – instead of focusing only on Mirpur Quarantine and Isolation Centers.
The Deputy Commissioner informed on this occasion that only four suspects have been kept in Quarantine centers in Mirpur besides the only patient found with positive systems in the Isolation center, who is also swiftly recovering to normal, he added.
The DC revealed that a mass Quarantine Center is being established in Muhi-ud-din medical college in Mirpur to house the impending influx of the affectees, hailing from Mirpur division travelling from the affected countries like Iran into Azad Kashmir via Tuftaan and other traditional routes.
The DC categorically denied a media report, published in a section of press, about shifting of 3000 suspects of the virus to Mirpur. He revealed that only 167 suspects, belonging to this district, travelling from Tuftan, were in due process shifted in the coming days and they were being kept in monitoring at the concerned stations to their departure to the home district, he added.
Tahir Mumtaz said that all due adequate arrangements have been made in the district to avert spread of the virus in the district strictly in line with the set SOP designed at the AJK state and national level.
He said that in line with the decision of the AJK government, plying of public transport has been strictly suspended to and from the district for other stations for next three days in the wake of the measures to discourage the spread of the virus that has engulfed major part of the world.
He strongly suggested that the Virus could be snubbed permanently by the people through the strict self safety and precautionary measures by staying in to the houses these days.
To a question, the DC said that local authorities were seriously contemplating to establish more quarantine centers under the required set one-room with attached bathroom policy at the buildings at the isolated sites besides in the local hotels to deal with the eventuality if, Allah forbid, emerged.
Speaking on this occasion, SSP Irfan Salim urged the civil society including Ulema and community leaders to lend support to the efforts of government to help contain the COVID-19 threat in AJK.
While advising the people to follow the government advisories, the district police chief solicited joint efforts to stop Covid 19 from spreading. “Religious scholars have a pivotal role to play in this precarious situation that is underway; they are the transmitters of knowledge. They should come forward to support the government in dealing with the pandemic. Need of the hour calls for a multifarious strategy to fight the outbreak, having community leaders, local press, electronic Media, Radio on board will help impede the spread of outbreak”, Irfan Salim emphasized.