Don’t panic, be informed: Here is a step-by-step guide to coping with COVID-19 in Pakistan

If you suspect that you may have symptoms of the novel coronavirus, including fever, coughing or shortness of breath, here is what you need to do immediately.

Below is Geo.tv’s ultimate guide for each province:

Punjab

Where to call?

First things first, call the Punjab government’s helpline (1033). Officials will then collect your details and recommend a doctor and a public hospital in your area for testing.

Or you can call the private laboratory, Chughtai, for an at-home test. Government-run hospitals are testing for free, while private labs are charging Rs8,000 per test. It takes two days to get the results for the tests.

Where do you go for testing?

In Punjab, the following testing centers have been set up by the Punjab government:

· Services Hospital, Lahore

· Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi

· Nishtar Hospital, Multan

· Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Sialkot

· Allied Hospital, Faisalabad

· Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Rahimyar Khan

What happens if you test positive for Covid-19?

Once your results are in, the Punjab health department will guide you to an isolation ward set up at hospitals in the province.

- Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Center, Lahore

- Services Hospital, Lahore

- Reception Tayyip Erdogan Hospital, Muzaffargarh

- Urology Hospital, Rawalpindi

- Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi

- Nishtar Hospital, Multan

- Allied Teaching Hospital, Faisalabad

- Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Sialkot

For those who do not want to be shifted to a public hospital, and can afford to be treated at a private medical center, the Hameed Latif Hospital in Lahore has dedicated its seventh floor to coronavirus patients.

Separately, the Punjab government has identified eight hotels in Lahore, with the combined capacity of 880 beds, to accommodate the infected.

In addition, there is a total capacity to house 19,000 people in quarantine centers and isolation wards across the province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Where to call?

For Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the toll free number to call is 0800-01700. City residents do not need to leave their home to go to a testing facility. If the team over the phone is convinced that you must be tested for Covid-19, they will send a health-care worker to your home to be tested.

What happened if you test positive?

Officials of the provincial health department will immediately call you on receiving your results. Next, you will be taken to one of the 110 isolation health units set up in the province, which have a total capacity of 856 beds.

Where are the isolation wards located?

Geo.tv has a list of isolation units set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the number of beds in each:

Abbottabad

- Abbottabad Medical Complex (10 beds)

- Cat-D Havelian (5 beds)

- Cat-D Lora (5 beds)

- Cat-D Boi (5 beds)

- Nathia Gali Civil Hospital (4 beds)

- Khaira Gali Hospital (5 beds)

- Civil Hospital Sherwan (3 beds)

- DHQ Abbottabad (15 beds)

- Ayub Teaching Hospital (24 beds)

- Gillani Hospital (5 beds)

Bajaur

- DHQ, Khar (8 beds)

Bannu

- Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital (6 beds)

- DHQ Hospital Bannu (10 beds)

- Type D Hospital Kakki (4 beds)

- Type D Hospital Jani Khel (4 beds)

- Rural Health Center (RHC) Domel (3 beds)

- RHC Ghori Wala (8 beds)

Battagram

- DHQ Battagram (10 beds)

- Type D Banna (5 beds)

- RHC Thakot (4 beds)

- Kuza Banda (12 beds)

Buner

- DHQ (4 beds)

Charsadda

- THQ Tangi (4 beds)

- DHQ Charsadda (5 beds)

- THQ Shabqadar (2 beds)

- Cat-D Jamal Abad (3 beds)

Chitral

- Rural Health Center (RHC) Kaghazi (2 beds)

- RHC Ayun (2 beds)

- Cat-D Booni (2 beds)

- Cat-D Drosh (2 beds)

- DHQ Hospital Lower Chitral (4 beds)

D. I. Khan

- Mufti Mehmood Memorial Hospital (20 beds)

Dir Lower

- DHQ Timergara (15 beds)

- THQ Chakdara (5 beds)

- THQ Samar Bagh (5 beds)

Dir Upper

- Category-D Wari (5 beds)

- Cat-D Barawal (2 beds)

Hangu

- Type-D Hangu (8 beds)

- DHQ Hangu (5 beds)

- Type-D Thall (2 beds)

- RHC Naryab (2 beds)

- CH Doaba (2 beds)

Haripur

- Type D Ghazi (6 beds)

- Type D Sarai Namat Khan (2 beds)

- RHC Sirikot (2 beds)

- Type D Khanpur (2 beds)

Karak

- Cat-D Takt Nasrati (5 beds)

- Cat-D BD Shah (6 beds)

- Cat-D Sabir Abad (5 beds)

Khyber

- Pak-Afghan Friendship Hospital at Torkham (10 beds)

- THQ Dogra Hospital (10 beds)

- Type D Hospital Jamrud (10 beds)

- DHQ, Landikotal (15 beds)

Kohat

- Lachi (24 beds)

- DHQ Kohat (10 beds)

- RHC Gumbat (16 beds)

Kohistan Upper

- RHC Dasu (2 beds)

Kohistan Lower

- THQ Pattan (12 beds)

- RHC Ranlia (4 beds)

Kuram Lower

- THQ, Sada (6 beds)

- BHU, Alizai (10 beds)

Kuram Upper

- DHQ, Parachinar (12 beds)

Lakki Marwat

- Category C Hospital Lakki Marwat (5 beds)

- DHQ Lakki Marwat (10 beds)

- Category C Hospital Sarai Naurang (4 beds)

Malakand

- THQ Dargai (10 beds)

- DHQ Batkhela (10 beds)

- Cat D Thana (10 beds)

- RHC Alladand (5 beds)

- RHC Sakhakot (5 beds)

- RHC Palai (5 beds)

- RHC Kot (5 beds)

Mansehra

- Type-D Balakot (2 beds)

- Type-D Gari Habib Ullah (2 beds)

- Type-D Baffa (2 beds)

- RHC Shinkiari (2 beds)

- RHC Chaltar ( 2 beds)

- RHC Battal (2 beds)

Mardan

- THQ Takhtbhai (10 beds)

- MMC (5 beds)

- DHQ Mardan (6 beds)

Mohmand

- DHQ, Ghalanai (10 beds)

North Waziristan

- DHQ, Miranshah (10 beds)

- THQ, Mirali (10 beds)

Nowshera

- DHQ Nowshera (6 beds)

- MRHSM Pabbi (6 beds)

- Cat-D Daag Ismail Khan (4 beds)

- Cat-D Akora Khattak (6 beds)

- Cat-D Ziarat Kaka Sb (6 beds)

- QHAMC (4 beds)

- Cat-D Manki Sharif (4 beds)

Orakzai

- DHQ, Meshti Mela (24 beds)

Peshawar

- Lady Reading Hospital (10 beds)

- Khyber Teaching Hospital (20 beds)

- Hayatabad Medical Complex (5 beds)

- Service Hospital Peshawar (60 beds)

Shangla

- DHQ Alpuri Shangla (5 beds)

- THQ Bisham (20 beds)

South Waziristan

- DHQ, Wana (8 beds)

Swabi

- THQ Chota Lahore (20 beds)

- Cat. C Topi (20 beds)

Swat

- Nawaz Sharif Kidney Hospital (6 beds)

- ZKS/THQ Hospital Matta (10 beds)

- THQ Hospital Khwazakhela (10 beds)

- SGTH (5 beds)

Tank

- DHQ Tank (10 beds)

- Cat D Amakhel (10 beds)

- RHC Gul Imam (5 beds)

- RHC Gomal Bazar (5 beds)

- BHU Kot Musa (10 beds)

For those who want to avail private health facilities, Rehman Medical Institute Hayatabad and Northwest General Hospital Hayatabad in Peshawar have set up isolation wards.

Balochistan

Where to call?

For those in Balochistan, the numbers to call, if you suspect you may have symptoms, are: 0819-241122 and 0819-241133. There is also a WhatsApp number to contact health department officials - 0334-9241133.

What happens if you test positive for Covid-19?

If you test positive, you will then be housed in one of the following isolation/ quarantine wards in Quetta:

- PCSIR Laboratories Complex, Quetta

- RDA Complex, Quetta

- Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Quetta

- Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital, Quetta

In the rest of the province, all district headquarter hospitals (DHQs) have dedicated 40 beds each for coronavirus patients.

Sindh

Where to call?

The helpline numbers to call for suspected cases in Sindh are: 021-99204405, 021-99206565, 021-99203443, 021-99204405, 0316-0111712

Where do you go for testing?

Here are the private clinics testing for coronavirus:

- Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (currently suspended tests)

- Indus Hospital Karachi

- Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) Khairpur

Public:

- Dow University of Health Sciences (Ojha campus, Karachi)

- Civil Hospital, Karachi

- Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi

- Lyari General Hospital, Karachi

- Chandka Medical College, Larkana

- Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical Sukkur

- Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS) Hyderabad

- Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences Nawabshah

It is pertinent to mention that AKUH has currently suspended tests due to an overwhelming amount of requests and lack of capacity.

Advance laboratories and Chugtai lab have stopped testing for the coronavirus due to non-registration with the Sindh Healthcare Commission.

Most of the tests cost from Rs6,000 to around Rs8,000 in the province, with some of the government hospitals taking tests free of charge.

— Reporting by Benazir Shah from Lahore, Shakeel Farman from Peshawar, Ejaz Khan from Quetta, Nida Mujahid Hussain and Khawar Khan from Karachi.