Govt to make use of military's TTQ system to tackle COVID-19 in country

• The military will assist the civilian agencies with their technical skills and technology to devise strategies related to the contagious disease.
• The strategy is being adopted as the country moves towards smart lockdown reinforcing social distancing, limited opening up of economy and targeted isolation of corona patients.
• The TTQ strategy involves increasing testing ability, rapidly tracing the contacts of confirmed cases, and effective quarantining of positive and suspected cases.

(Karachi) In a recent development, the Pakistan Army will help the government to Test, Trace and Quarantine (TTQ) suspected coronavirus cases in the country. The objective of the system is to identify hotspots to enable targeted lockdowns and need-driven resource optimisation at all levels.

The PM also revealed about the system earlier today during a TV telethon held to raise funds to battle coronavirus. The system was originally designed for terrorists but it is being used by the government to counter COVID-19.

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As part of the TTQ system, the military will assist the civilian agencies with their technical skills and technology to devise strategies related to the contagious disease.

The TTQ strategy involves increasing testing ability, rapidly tracing the contacts of confirmed cases, and effective quarantining of suspected and positive cases. The strategy is labour-intensive and requires use of technology.

The strategy is being adopted as the country moves towards smart lockdown reinforcing continued social distancing, limited opening up of economy, targeted isolation of corona patients, and continuous capacity-building of health sector.

The test and trace system requires intelligence based information to track those who have been affected with the virus. It involves testing and isolation and is the most promising approach to limiting the spread of the highly contagious disease.

The data collected through the system will be used to compile reliable and quick results that help monitor the coronavirus situation in the country.

On Thursday, Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also briefed about the TTQ strategy during his visit to the National Command and Operation Centre.

So far, more than 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported across Pakistan. Of them, 230 people have died while 2,337 have recovered from the deadly disease. The highest number of patients have been recorded in Punjab with 4,706, Sindh 3,671, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,453, Balochistan 552 cases, Islamabad 204 cases, Gilgit-Baltistan 290 and Azad Kashmir 51 cases.

In Pakistan, most of the initial corona-positive cases were traced to Iran. Interestingly, despite its close proximity with China, not a single case has been imported into Pakistan from there. But now local transmission of the virus has become a challenge for the cash-strapped government.