Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr Zafar Mirza on Saturday said that the coronavirus caseload in Pakistan neared 1500 with only 0.78 death ratio from the disease.
In a televised daily briefing on COVID-19, Dr Mirza said that total 14 deaths had been reported from the disease so far while seven patients were still in critical condition.
He said that 25 patients had been recovered while 469 cases were reported from Sindh, 570 from Punjab, 188 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 138 from Balochistan, 43 from Islamabad Capital Territory, 116 in Gilgit Baltistan and two in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Mirza said that over 7,000 people were living in different quarantine in provinces while as many 725 confirmed patients were admitted in various hospitals.
He said that with the passage of time the concerns in people were increasing about having coronavirus and many had started influencing health officials for conducting their tests. He, however, said that there was no need or necessarily for every citizens to conduct such test.
He said that there was heavy burden on 14 diagnostic laboratories and asked the citizens to follow the advisory of the Ministry of National Health Services regarding identification of those people who should conduct their PCR test.
Sharing details, he said only those should go for test and eligible who were included in such categories and were being given priority those with shortness of breath or related diseases and had spent time with the confirmed patient or spent time in affected countries.
He said that those who were admitted in hospitals with fever and respiratory infection with weak immune system like having chronic diseases or HIV/AIDS or old age people. He added those people will also be eligible with having breath shortness issue and they had leading role in dealing with corona patients like health workers.
He added those serious admitted patients in the hospitals with no disease identification will also be on priority list. He added second group which will be given priority included confirmed corona patient particularly those with suffering from other diseases like diabetes, heart disease, lungs issues or pregnancy etc.
He added in third category those public sector staffers will be given priority who were engaged in monitoring of suspected patients at quarantine or connected with corona patients or engaged in corona research.
He said that a detailed discussion was held and strategy was made to plan priority people for offering test facility rather consuming testing kits on irrelevant people just for their satisfaction in this critical time.
He said that this advisory was made in consultation was concerned stakeholders and experts of infectious diseases.
He said that in simple fever many people start considering themselves as confirmed corona patient which is not appropriate and asked the citizens to change this attitude and avoid seeking unnecessary favour for conducting their corona tests.