Daily Times

Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Tuesday said that with the consensus of all provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, the strategy of smart lockdown or Testing, Tracking and Quarantining (TTQ) would be implemented across the country within a few days to contain the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as well as to allow selected sectors to open their businesses.

“A consensus among the provinces and the federal government has been developed as all the chief ministers have accorded approval to the new system which would be scaled up and implemented within 5-6 days,” he said while addressing a televised press briefing led by Prime Minister Imran Khan here.

Asad Umar informed that last week the government had made a plan about it and decided to have a pilot test. The pilot test was conducted in various selected areas of the country which remained successful.

In the pilot test, he said the tracking system was made and health teams reached out the target patients and all those people with whom the corona patient had met during few days. All such people were tested and then kept isolated or hospitalised if needed, he added.

Umar said the results of those pilot tests were received yesterday and discussed in the meeting of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday.

Under this programme, he informed that every district, tehsil and union council would be approached for testing.

He explained that in this programme the top hierarchy would consist of SAPM to PM on health, all provincial health ministers and focal person to the PM on COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan. He said the technology teams would support on national level while on provincial levels, such teams would be formed which would approach deep to the union council level.

The minister said Pakistan Army was fully supporting in technology area and management matters.

He said this system would help those who lost their jobs or earnings due to lockdown and they would get the opportunity to resume their earnings.

Asad Umar also termed the allegations of India about sending corona patients from Pakistan baseless and said the world had shown the failed policy of the Indian government that how thousands of people were clustered at one place which caused spread of the virus at large scale.