NCOC briefed on COVID-19 testing facilities, SOPs violations

ISLAMABAD: National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the nerve centre for the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, was apprised that 102 laboratories were undertaking COVID-19 tests in the country.

A meeting was held in Islamabad on Tuesday to review short-term national action plan against the coronavirus, devised to meet additional requirements for June and July, was informed that four new laboratories would also start functioning soon.

The forum chaired by federal minister Asad Umar discussed the incentive package for frontline healthcare workers and decided to announce it after receiving feedback from doctors and stakeholders.

The forum was apprised that the local authorities were taking strict action on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) violation in markets, industries and transport to contain the spread of the virus. Dedicated teams have been deployed for ensuring compliance with health instructions and guidelines.

Sharing telehealth updates, the meeting was apprised that a total of 5,823 requests were received for getting doctors’ advice on the national dashboard. As many as 188 doctors carried out consultation of 1,374 patients across the country

In Punjab, 769 shops, eight industries, 776 vehicles were closed, fined and cautioned across the province, while some 2,865 SOP violations were reported in last 24 hours. Strict actions have been taken against SOP violators in Sindh including sealing of shops and transports all across the province.

In Balochistan, a total of 691 violations have been reported in last 24 hours. The authorities temporarily sealed 250 shops and fined 92 vehicles and cautioned over non-compliance of SOPs.

Some 7,351 SOP violations were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which 302 shops and 221 transporters were cautioned and sealed while 1,933 individuals were fined.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, some 67 shops and 70 vehicles were fined/sealed on 270 violations of health guidelines/ instructions. There were some 101 SOPs violations were marked in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) in which 13 hotels, 24 shops, two industries and 36 vehicles were fine or sealed.

Similarly, 422 SOPs violations were observed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) during which 112 shops and 85 vehicles were penalised.