There is a good news amid the depressing reports about pandemic coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance and Health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra on Saturday said that more than 100 Iran-returned pilgrims at Dera Ismael Khan completed their 14-day quarantine and were sent home where they would now go into further self-isolation as a precautionary measure.

The minister in a tweet said “The joy of freedom! We are going home! Thank you to the 100+ Zaireen at the DI Khan quarantine, for collaborating with the KP govt. You can now safely go home. Many of you who tested positive may hopefully now be immune to the #coronavirus as well.”

https://twitter.com/Jhagra/status/1246255014869434368

The minister also announced to launch Locum Program next week for doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and psychologists.

“In the #Coronavirus crisis, we need to protect our doctors, paramedics & other health staff by providing them back-up. We need your help, from across KP & all over Pakistan,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that Locum doctors, nurses and pharmacists will be hired for shorter contracts and higher pay rates. Locum refers to any person who temporarily fulfils the duties of another. Locum tenens is Latin for “holding one's place” and can be used equally by all health professionals, including allied health staff and nurses.

https://twitter.com/Jhagra/status/1246261778763440128

There are 343 confirmed COVID-19 patients in KP. 30 people have been recovered so far. With one death reported in last 24 hours, the tally jumped at 10 in the province.

KP is battling to increase its testing capacity and on Friday KP cabinet decided to increase coronavirus testing capacity from 300 to 1,500 per day  and eventually leading it to 10,000 per day by next week.