ISLAMABAD – The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursdaydecided to launch the National Test, Track and Quarantine (TTQ) Strategydevised for effective diagnosis of the COVID-19 patients to contain thepandemic.
The NCOC, which met with Minister for Planning, Development, and SpecialInitiatives Asad Umar in the chair, resolved to implement the nationalstrategy during the ongoing week whereas the provincial leadership wouldbrief the Centre on TTQ pilot project outcomes and implementation plan onFriday.
The National TTQ Strategy is aimed at collecting blood samples of people inbulk whereas the persons, who have come in contact with the coronaviruspositive patients will be tracked and quarantined.The meeting was informed that the provinces, including the Azad Jammu andKashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB), had agreed on the National TTQStrategy and they would ensure its implementation.
The Ministry of Health and experts pointed out in the meeting that keepingin view the increasing trend of COVID-19 positive cases, there was need tofocus on ensuring critical medical equipment to cope with the patients load.
Asad Umar directed to improve the mechanism of incorporating the details ofsuspected patients into the database of COVID-19 patients.
He said all the provincial chief ministers, health ministers and chiefsecretaries had been taken into confidence on the National TTQ Strategy.The provinces had implemented the TTQ pilot project and the provincialleadership had been asked to apprise the Centre on its outcomes and presenttheir implementation plan.Prime Minister’s Focal Person on COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan said theprovinces were briefed on the TTQ strategy, which had made no objection onit.
He said the provincial leadership maintained that the recent reporteddeaths due to COVID-19 were not mainly due to the epidemic. In order toclear the doubts, chest X-rays and radio images of the dead patients shouldbe reviewed, he added.
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Asad Umar said at present only reactive and symptomatic patients’ testswere being conducted which was due to the reason that implementation of theTTQ strategy was in its pilot phase and its complete implementation wouldboost the testing capacity to 20,000 per day.
NCOC Chief Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman said theprovincial apex committees might take the lead role for the betterimplementation of National TTQ Strategy.
National Institute of Health (NIH) Executive Director Major Aamir Ikramsaid under the pilot project of TTQ strategy, NIH teams had collected bloodsamples of people in Bara Kahu through door to door campaign for conductingtests.
There was a total capacity of 6,500 tests per day at the moment whichwould increase to 20,000 after implementation of the TTQ strategy.Minister for Interior Brig (R) Ejaz Ahmad Shah, Minister for EconomicAffairs Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister for Industries and Production HammadAzhar, Minister for National Food Security Fakhar Imam, Special Assistantto the Prime Minister on Health (SAPM) Dr Zafar Mirza, SAPM on Commerce andInvestment Abdul Razak Dawood, NDMA deputy chairman and other officialsalso attended the meeting.
