LAHORE                       -            Punjab Chief Secretary Major (retd) Azam Suleman Khan Saturday reviewed a strategy for adopting preventive measures against coronavirus and steps to eradicate dengue in the province at the earliest.

The meeting was attended by Provincial Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Hamayun, Minister Auqaf Syed Saeed-ul-Hassan, Additional Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), administrative secretaries of all departments, whereas all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners joined the meeting through video-conferencing.

Speaking in the meeting at Civil Secretariat, the Chief Secretary said that officials of health, all relevant departments and field officers would have to work hard as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to control dengue. He directed all departments to ensure implementation of the SOPs issued in connection with dengue control.

He asked the officer to create awareness among people about the Cronavirus by launching an effective province-wide campaign.

Secretary Primary Health Capt (retd) Muhammad Usman briefed the meeting that control rooms would be set up for monitoring of hotspots, surveillance and timely issuance of alerts. He said that the Health Department had started training on dengue at divisional headquarters and so far two sessions had been organised in Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, whereas the process would be completed in other divisions including Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Sahiwal, Gujranwala and Lahore by March 10.

The chief secretary said that cleanliness, larvaciding and other anti-dengue activities be expedited in the province, besides ensuring correct reporting of data as situation could take turn for the worst in case of concealment of facts.

The CS ordered that proper screening of Chinese and other people be conducted as per the SOPs issued by the federal government and relevant provincial departments should keep close liaison with the federal authorities.

Secretary Specialized Healthcare Nabeel Awan told the meeting that at present there was no Coronavirus patient in the country, adding that at divisional
level, high dependency units had been established in one hospital where trained doctors and paramedics would provide healthcare to suspected coronavirus patients.