PESHAWAR: The Clinical Management Group for Covid-19 has strongly recommended closure of Tableeghi Marakiz throughout the province.

According to official figures, 15 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on Tuesday, taking the total to 515 in the province.

The new cases included five from Peshawar, two each from Dir Upper, Abbottabad, Orakzai and Shangla and one each from Khyber and Bannu.

One death was reported from Warsak Road Peshawar, taking tally of deceased people from the virus to 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Clinical Management Group has said that all those coming into contact with the people having travel history abroad should be investigated as confirmed cases continue to surge.

A member of the group told Dawn that the province had so far registered 500 active cases with 17 deaths and the situation was becoming dangerous if the recommendations were not implemented forthwith.

One more dies of coronavirus as KP reports 15 new cases

“We have recommended to the government to close Tableeghi Marakiz immediately. All the Marakiz have already been quarantined on the directives of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan but we want complete closure in view of the rapidly spreading infection,” he said.

He said that they were getting more patients having Tableeghi background and hoped that government would swing into action by closing all Marakiz otherwise the number of patients would increase manifold.

Last week, the government constituted a five-member CMG to assist the health department in prevention of the infection and treatment of the active patients.

The member of the group said that government was also requested to trace the contacts of members of Tableeghi Jamaat and of those, who had history of foreign travel, he said.

The recommendations also include testing of people in endemic areas like Mardan, Kurram and Peshawar districts besides those, who had, symptoms like cough, runny nose, difficulty in breathing, fever and sore throat to exclude Covid-19 as cause.

The group has been holding workshops for the health professionals on use of ventilators as well as other protocols to ensure case investigation, management and treatment.

In Shangla, two new cases of Covid-19 were reported, taking the total tally of the district to five.

Deputy Commissioner Imran Hussain Ranjha said that a 23-year-old coalminer tested positive for Covid-19. He had recently returned from Dara Adamkhel and his samples were sent for test to Islamabad.

In Bannu, eight persons tested positive for coronavirus in Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital.

Of the total 328 people screened in the hospital, 58 were tested and eight of them emerged positive. The suspected patients also included five doctors; who tested negative for the ailment.

Fifty suspected patients have been quarantined in the district.

In Karak, the number of Covid-19 patients reached five after a new case was registered on Tuesday.

Dr Shahid Salam said that the patient was immediately shifted to district headquarters hospital where his condition was out of danger.

Assistant Commissioner Abdus Samad Nizamani ordered enforced lockdown in the area where the new case was reported.

In Bajaur tribal district two new cases of coronavirus were reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed patients in the region to six.

Dr Naseeb Gul, the deputy medical superintendent of district headquarters hospital, told Dawn that test results of the two men were sent by National Institute of Health, Islamabad. Both were positive.

He said that one of them was a member of Tableeghi Jamaat and had returned to Bajaur from Nawab Shah area of Sindh province few days ago. He said that travel history of the other patient was not ascertained immediately.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2020