QUETTA: The Balochistan government is taking all possible steps to keep people safe from coronavirus and all precautionary measures have been taken by the health department and Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in this regard. No case of the deadly disease has been reported in the province so far.

The federal government closed Pakistan’s borders with Iran and Afghanistan after reports confirmed presence of coronavirus patients in the two countries.

Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Iran because of the closure of the Pak-Iran border have now started coming back to Pakistan and over 2,000 Pakistani pilgrims and business men returned to Pakistan through the Taftan border.

They have been quarantined at the Taftan border by the PDMA and the health department and teams of doctors were not allowing them to move to other parts of the country without medical check-up.

“No positive or suspected case of coronavirus has been reported at the Taftan border so far,” Taftan Assistant Commissioner Najeebul­lah Qambrani told a high-level meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani on Tuesday. The meeting reviewed the situation and preventive measures taken so far taken to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

Balochistan Chief Secretary retired Capt Fazeel Asghar, Secretaries, DG of PDMA Imran Zarkoon, Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Quetta and Director General of Health attended the meeting.

Secretary of Health Mudassir Waheed Malik briefed the chief minister on health facilities provided at the Taftan border.

“The health department has quarantined the Pakistan House at the Taftan border where more than 300 pilgrims who recently returned from Iran had been screened,” the meeting was told.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2020