ISLAMABAD: Despite around a hundred new cases of Covid-19 being reported in the capital every day, Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat on Sunday said schools and residential sectors would not be closed.

“The number of cases could be reduced with the closure of sectors and educational institutions, but after opening those sectors and schools cases will rise again. We need to learn how to live with the virus,” he told Dawn.

He added that efforts are being made to enforce standard operating procedure (SOP) to limit the spread of the disease.

He said that according to policy, educational institutions are closed for a few days after Covid-19 cases are detected, and then reopened once they have been disinfected.

“We have sealed around 30 educational institutions so far and on average 60 shops are sealed or fined per day. Although more than 100 cases are being reported per day, the good thing is that just a few ventilators are being used in the federal capital and across the country,” he said.

He said the district administration is following its track, trace and quarantine (TTQ) policy to ensure Covid-19 does not spread rapidly.

“We have been trying to ensure the implementation of SOP at restaurants, wedding halls and educational institutions. However we will not close residential sectors or all educational institutions as it will increase the problems of people,” he said.

Mr Shafqaat said people should wear masks, practice social distancing and wash their hands to limit the spread of the disease.

Controversy about false positive tests Mr Shafqaat said six people who tested positive for Covid-19 at the National Institute of Health (NIH) were caught out in public a few days ago.

“When asked why, they said that a private laboratory had declared them negative so they decided to go out instead or remaining in isolation. People should stay in isolation even if one of three tests comes back positive,” he said.

A number of people have claimed that they tested positive at NIH and later tested negative at private laboratories.

An NIH official who was not authorised to speak on record said there could be different reasons for the discrepancies.

“Our kits are very sensitive and they pick even a minute amount of traces of virus. Moreover, sometime the results of the test can change within a day. So it is suggested that those who do not trust the NIH should get tested at NIH and a private lab the same day,” he said.

He said analytical and pre-analytical factors can affect the test result.

“A number of times, samples are collected incorrectly due to which the result can come back negative. Moreover, a number of private laboratories use rapid kits that give results in a few hours but the chance of error increases. Even in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, chances of error cannot be ignored,” he said.

The official said this issue has taken place around the world and should not be taken seriously. “Once a person tests positive, he or she should stay in isolation for 14 days as this limits the chances of the virus spreading,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2020