RAWALPINDI: Another 10 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of patients in Rawalpindi district to 32, on Sunday. The cases include 14 people from Dhoke Paracha.

Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Anwarul Haq told Dawn that all the patients have been moved to the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), and people who have been in close contact with them quarantined in Shamsabad.

The administration is also working to disinfect the areas where the patients reside, he said, and precautionary measures have been taken in quarantine facilities in the district.

According to official figures, there are 32 confirmed patients from Rawalpindi district admitted to RIU and Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH); three of the patients are children below the age of 10, 18 are between the ages of 11 and 40, two between 41 and 50 and nine over the age of 50.

There are 14 patients from Dhoke Paracha, four from Taxila and Wah and 14 from other areas. According to divisional data, there is one confirmed Covid-19 case in Attock and 27 in Jhelu,.

All patients taken to RIU; close contacts quarantined in Shamsabad

At present, 85 people are being kept in quarantine in Rawalpindi, 215 in Attack and 59 in Jhelum, while 232 people have been isolated in their homes.

The district administration and health authority faced difficulty moved the relatives of confirmed patients to quarantine facilities for isolation and testing,as most people wanted to remain at home. Eleven members of a family in Sadiqabad refused to go to a quarantine facility until police and army personnel had to be called in; they all later tested positive for the virus.

Mr Haq told Dawn that everyone was persuaded to go to a hospital. The district administration is also raising awareness among the public about keeping a physical distance and avoiding visiting friends and relatives.

Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Iqbal Sanghera said: “We tried to explain to them that we were shifting the family and close contacts of confirmed patients to isolation for their and others’ safety, but they refused.”

He said three members of another family were taken to the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, but they lodged complaints on the Prime Minister’s Portal saying they were being confined against their will. Mr Sanghera said they were willing to go to a hospital after their tests came back positive.

Mr Sanghera said awareness needs to be created among people to move to quarantine centres if their relatives or close contacts have contracted Covid-19. People should take responsibility for the safety of their families and others in the area, he said.

Taxila

Four confirmed Covid-19 cases reported in Taxila on Sunday have sent alarm bells ringing in the health department and local administration.

Deputy District Officer (Health) Dr Sara Qadeer confirmed the number of patients. She said one patient was from Jameelabad in Taxila and the others from Wah Cantonment. All four have been taken to different isolation centres.

“Relatives of the patients were quarantined and their condition is being monitored on a daily basis,” she said.

Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Faheem that four people tested positive for the coronavirus and said that the local administration is taking all possible measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Quarantine centres are being upgraded and more resources utilised to provide facilities there, he said.

A suspected Covid-19 patient was also admitted to an isolation ward in the Hassanabdal Tehsil Headquarters Hospital on Sunday. Hassanabdal Assistant Commissioner Adnan Anjum Raja said the patients samples were collected and were being sent to the National Institute of Health.

Amjad Iqbal also contributed to the story

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2020