ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has asserted that the government will use technology to trace coronavirus cases and identify virus hotspots throughout the country in a bid to enforce a smart lockdown.
Addressing a press conference today (Sunday) in Islamabad, Asad Umar informed that the government has completed the work on a portal where data will be collected from all the hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients.
Asad Umar further said, “Through this portal, we will be able to know the exact number of beds, ventilators, and patients in each hospital.”
He announced that the government was also working on a mobile application through which people would get information regarding hospitals and coronavirus facilities.
“Through this app, we will be able to avoid a scenario where hospitals do have facilities but the patient is unable to reach them because he does not know where to go,” he said. He further informed that the portal and the app both would go live in the next few days.
Commenting on the smart lockdown, he said that smart lockdown was being enforced only in hotspot areas. “Currently, Punjab is enforcing smart lockdown in some 169 areas while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is enforcing smart lockdown in 177 areas,” he added.
Asad Umar also expressed confidence that the decision to ease lockdown in a phased manner will be implemented with the national spirit of unity. “The decision was taken in consultation with all the federating units,” he added.
The planning minister said that the government was also engaging with the rural support programme not only to create awareness amongst the rural population about the contagion but also to provide relief to the deserving families.
He noted that some people have stopped sharing their coronavirus symptoms or that they have tested positive over the fear that they would be taken to quarantine centres. “This is not the case and we had already issued a notification in this regard that people who have the facility to isolate at home should be allowed to do so,” he added.
He expressed satisfaction that the trajectory of coronavirus cases in Pakistan was not as serious as compared to other countries. He, however, urged the people to take precautionary measures to prevent the deadly virus.
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