Tag: NDMA

  • Coronavirus: Army takes over distribution of protective equipment to ensure transparency

    Coronavirus: Army takes over distribution of protective equipment to ensure transparency

    National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chief Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal has said that the army, amid doctors’ complaints regarding the nonavailability of personal protective equipment (PPE), has taken over the distribution of the same and the equipment is now being provided to hospitals with the help of respective corps headquarters.

    “As we had received complaints from some doctors that they were not getting PPE, I requested COAS [Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa] after which it was decided that PPEs will directly be sent to the corps headquarters concerned rather than sharing them with the provincial governments,” Lt Gen Afzal said while addressing a press conference.

    According to Dawn, he added that the information regarding the dispatching of PPEs was, however, duly shared with the provincial governments. “Now the army is distributing the protective gear in the hospitals, and since then we have not received any complain.”

    The NDMA chairperson said the authority had adequate stocks of protective equipment which could cater to the needs of doctors and patients for the next month.

    He said initially Pakistan was dependent on foreign-made equipment but now except ventilators, everything else was being manufactured by local companies. “As a result of the local production of equipment, the cost of normal mask has dropped from Rs50 to Rs10 and N-95 mask is now available for Rs300 against its previous price of Rs2,000.”

    Lt Gen Afzal said so far five tranches of equipment had been sent to provinces and a universal helpline 111-157-157 set up to receive complaints regarding unavailability of PPE and other material being used against the virus.

    He said a quarantine centre established at Haji Camp in the capital was not being utilised as people of the area had demanded that such a centre should be away from populated areas.

  • Coronavirus: ‘Pakistan to start conducting 50,000 tests a day,’ says Lt Gen Afzal

    Coronavirus: ‘Pakistan to start conducting 50,000 tests a day,’ says Lt Gen Afzal

    National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal has said that Pakistan will start conducting 50,000 coronavirus tests a day from next week as a meeting held at the National Command and Operations Centre has decided that virus detection kits would be provided to all departments concerned at the earliest.

    Speaking to journalists, the NDMA chairman said that earlier only those who showed symptoms of the coronavirus were being tested, but the authorities are now shifting to randomised testing for effective implementation of the government’s plans to curb the menace of COVID-19 that has so far claimed 251 lives in Pakistan and left over 12,000 people sick across the country.

    Lt Gen Afzal added that 800,000 testing kits were available and efforts were being made to procure more.

    On April 11, the NDMA received a medical consignment from China consisting of 59 ventilators, about 936 kilogrammes (kg) of surgical masks, protective suits, safety lenses, thermometers, and 1,720 kg of unstitched cloth for surgical gowns, all of which were distributed among provinces.

    Meanwhile, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has instructed the military to help civilian administration during the holy month of Ramzan that has arrived amid the global coronavirus pandemic.  

    “COAS held a special conference at General Headquarters (GHQ) today where the overview of the coronavirus deployment and situation was taken into account. COAS instructed all commanders to ensures border security and carry out routine activities as per schedule,” the military spokesperson said while addressing a press conference on Friday.

    “The army chief gave the instruction to work with civil authorities to ease the difficulties being faced by the people during Ramzan,” he said.

  • Coronavirus: Provinces asked to convert top hotels into quarantine centres

    Coronavirus: Provinces asked to convert top hotels into quarantine centres

    The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has asked provinces to convert all 3 and 4-star hotels into quarantine centres in the fight against the new coronavirus, ARY reported.

    According to reports, the NDMA has written a letter to the federal interior secretary and all four provincial chief secretaries in this regard.

    The move comes after Pakistan witnessed an increase in COVID-19 cases over the ongoing week.

    In the letter, the NDMA has said it is necessary to take preventative measures against the coronavirus as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

    The hotels will be made into quarantine centres with one person in one room, the report said.

    It merits a mention here that the number of novel coronavirus cases in Pakistan has surged to 341 with two confirmed deaths in Mardan and Hangu.

    Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients in Pakistan stands at three.