PESHAWAR: Though novel coronavirus on Saturday claimed three more lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all in Peshawar, there’s good news to raise the people’s spirits: 109 residents of Manga village tested negative for the virus to pave the way for the gradual re-opening of the Mardan union council, where the country’s first Covid-19 death was reported.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan tweeted that 109 Covid-19 tests from Manga union council had turned out to be negative.

A complete lockdown has been enforced in the area with a population of 57,000 for two weeks.

The district authorities are considering the gradual re-opening of the area and end to restriction on the movement of the residents.

“Good news for Mardan and KP: 109 Covid-19 tests of different parts of Manga found negative by NIH. We’ll disinfect the area and will gradually open the UC,” the chief minister said in a tweet.

109 residents of Mardan affected village test negative

Mardan district has recorded 88 confirmed Covid-19 cases, mostly from the Manga village, where the country’s first death from the virus was reported.

The chief minister added that the latest Manga test results proved the effectiveness of the measures taken by the administration after the surge of cases in Mardan.

“We stand committed to the safety of our people,” he said.

Mr Mahmood urged the people to stay home during the lockdown saying it is the best way to prevent the infection He said Mardan, the epicentre of the virus, was under complete lockdown to prevent the spread of virus to other areas.

Meanwhile, the latest three Covid-19 deaths in the province were reported in Peshawar’s old city areas of Gulbahar and Yakkatoo, and Police Colony, Nasirbagh Road.

Also in the day, 26 people tested positive for the virus in the province.

Of them, four were reported in Bannu, Buner and Lakki Marat each, three in Peshawar and adjoining Khyber tribal districts each, two in Upper Dir, Nowshera and Shangla each, and one in Torghar and Dera Ismail Khan each.

A 63-year-old Karak resident, who died of Covid-19 in a Peshawar hospital, was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Orbashi area of Banda Daud Shah tehsil.

The deceased had returned from a preaching mission (tableegh) 10 days ago and was admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, with coronavirus symptoms.

The police cordoned off the area and ensured the burial ceremony amid strict security checks and precautionary steps against coronavirus.

In Lakki Marwat, four members of the Tableeghi Jamaat tested positive for coronavirus. Health official Dr Hidayatullah Khan said the new cases had been quarantined at the Tajazai district headquarters hospital and their condition was stable.

The administration announced a complete lockdown of Mamakhel and Land Ahmadkhel villages, where the confirmed cases belonged to, and dispatched teams of municipal administration there for spraying disinfectants in mosques and adjacent areas.

The policemen were deployed in both villages to restrict the people’s movement.

Deputy commissioner Abdul Haseeb said 15 other members of the Tableeghi Jamaat had been quarantined at a centre established on the town campus of a local university.

In Lower Dir district, three people, including a Tableeghi Jamaat member, were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Saturday.

Deputy DHO Dr Irshad Roghani said the preachers had been quarantine in local mosques and were told to follow recommendations.

In Kohat district, one of the two Tableeghi Jamaat members, who were diagnosed with the virus on March 22, had tested negative on Saturday.

The officials said of the 68 suspected Covoid-19 cases, 31 had tested negative and 19 positive.

The authorities on Saturday admitted three residents of Landi Kotal area in Khyber tribal district to the isolation ward of a local hospital after they tested positive for Covid-19.

The three travelled from Lahore to Landi Kotal along with a confirmed coronavirus case three days ago. They’re kept in a local isolation centre, while their villages were sealed with the police asking the residents to stay at home for two weeks.

Officials said they had collected samples from the family members of the new cases for test.

Shangla district recorded another confirmed coronavirus case on Saturday.

The new case, a pharmacy technician, took the district’s total virus tally to two.

Deputy commissioner Imran Hussain Ranjha said the area had been sealed, while the residents had been restricted to their homes.

He said the patient’s family members were isolated at the Alpuri district headquarters hospital.

The deputy commissioner said the officials had collected samples from the family members of the new confirmed case and sent them to lab for analysis.

He said five new suspected Covid-19 cases were also reported in the district.

Mr Ranjha said of the total 45 suspected cases recorded in Shangla, 27 had tested negative for the virus and two positive, while the results of the tests of the rest were awaited.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2020