Army seals Islamabad’s Bhara Kahu after multiple coronavirus cases reported
The Pakistan Army completely sealed Islamabad’s Bhara Kahu on Wednesday after a group of people there tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Islamabad administration had earlier decided to impose a complete ban on the movement of people in Bhara Kahu’s Kot Hathyal after at a number of members of the Tablighi Jamaat were diagnosed with coronavirus on Monday, according to officials.
However, the National Ministry of Health did not confirm the cases. It said the cases are reported to PIMS, then they go to NIH and NIH sends the final report to the health ministry. NIH public health chief Dr Salman said he doesn’t know the details of any cases and just gives the results to the ministry.
On Wednesday, the army deployed soldiers and announced via megaphones that the area was being sealed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
According to a notification issued by the city administration, there is a complete ban on the movement of people and gathering until further orders in Kot Hathyal. Only one person can go to get groceries or medicine at a time.
An official of Islamabad police told SAMAA Digital that at least 11 members of the Tablighi Jamaat, who were staying in a mosque in Bhara Kahu area, have tested positive. “We are imposing a full lockdown in Kot Hathyal area,” he added.
According to another police official, the members of Tablighi Jamaat had met dozens of people in the area. They have been moved to isolation wards now.
“A foreigner was also part of this group and tested positive too,” he said. “The entire area has been turned into quarantine and the people of the area will be tested.”
On Sunday, the Palestinian authorities had confirmed first two cases of the coronavirus in Gaza. Both the members were tested positive after their return from Pakistan, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
According to reports, both the men had attended annual Tablighi Jamaat’s Ijtema near Lahore.
The annual five-day Tablighi Ijtema had started on March 11 but was called off by the organisers late March 12 because of heavy rains. About 250,000 people had gathered in Raiwind near Lahore this year to attend the ijtema.
In Karachi, four people, who had attended the Tabligi Ijtema, were diagnosed with the virus, the provincial health department confirmed.
At least 1,000 known cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Pakistan so far and seven people have died due to the virus.
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Cancel replyArticle source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/pakistan/2020/03/army-seals-islamabads-bhara-kahu-after-multiple-coronavirus-cases-reported/