All 16 new Coronavirus cases in Gilgit-Baltistan were locally transmitted: Shams Mir

GILGIT: All 16 of the Coronavirus cases in Gilgit-Baltistan were locally transmitted, confirmed Aurangzeb Advocate, the focal person for CoVID19, who is also the region’s Law Minister, and Shams Mir, Chief Minister’s adviser.

Addressing a press conference, Shams Mir told the media that the 16 new patients had not traveled outside the country. He said that 14 of the local transmissions had taken place in Skardu, and 2 in Nagar district.

What does “local transmission” mean?

It means that the patients have contracted the virus without traveling to an affected area. They most likely have got the virus from an affected person who had traveled abroad.

Why is local transmission dangerous?

It is difficult for any government to track the people affected through local transmission of the virus. Governments, so far, have been focusing on the people who have travelled from abroad. Local transmission has the potential of leading to “community spread”, which can engulf whole villages and regions, leading to exhaustion and overwhelming of the public resources and health system.

What is Community Spread? 

Community Spread means that many people in a community have been affected by a contagious disease, but they don’t know who and where they got the disease from.

What needs to be done?

In case of Coronaviruses, the masses need to ensure physical distancing; people should be at least 6 feet apart from each other, and constantly continue precautionary measures, like washing hands, covering face and mouth, avoiding physical contacts.

The Gilgit-Baltistan government has imposed “Home Lockdown”, which means that people have to stay inside their houses, until and unless there’s a critical/crucial need for going out.