RAWALPINDI: There were 47 more cases of Covid-19 reported in Rawalpindi on Thursday, along with two deaths and no recoveries.

The number of new cases reported daily has been falling in the city, and 60pc of the beds allocated for Covid-19 patients in government hospitals are empty.

But doctors at Rawalpindi hospitals have said that testing has slowed down in Rawalpindi, as the provincial government has not increased the daily testing capacity from 110 to 600.

A District Health Authority official also said that no relatives of confirmed patients have been screened in the city for the last week because of a shortage of testing kits. He said that the target to test 6,692 people last month was not met, with 5,952 tests carried out so far.

However, Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood claimed that the number of new cases is decreasing because of the government’s ‘smart lockdown’ policy. He said there are also fewer patients in hospital high dependency units, with 154 people admitted to the city’s four hospitals’ units, of whom 52 are stable, 86 are on oxygen and 21 are on ventilators.

He said around 60pc of the beds allocated for Covid-19 treatment in the city’s government hospitals are vacant, with 190 out of 790 occupied and 598 empty. “We can accommodate more patients in case of an emergency,” he added.

Mr Mehmood said the Punjab government was focusing on medical care for critical patients. The recovery rate for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi is 72pc, he said, and the death rate is 5pc.

With Thursday’s confirmed cases, there have now been 6,126 cases of Covid-19 reported in Rawalpindi. Of these patients, 4,385 have recovered and 248 have died.

There are 673 patients being treated in hospitals and 820 isolated in their homes.

Another 247 suspected patients are admitted to Rawalpindi’s four hospitals and their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Health and the Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Holy Family Hospital laboratories for testing.

A senior district administration official said that 3,239 people have tested negative for Covid-19 and 1,466 have tested positive in the last month.

There have been 4,799 cases reported in Rawalpindi’s city and cantonment areas, 246 in Gujar Khan, 254 in Taxila, 70 in Kahuta, 60 in Kotli Sattian, 40 in Kallar Syedan and 30 in Murree.

Also on Thursday, 37 shops were sealed in the city for violating standard operating procedures (SOP) issued to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Assistant commissioners have imposed Rs40,500 in fines on shopkeepers in this regard.

In addition, 39 vehicles were impounded and the Regional Transport Authority imposed Rs47,000 fines on public transport vehicles for violating SOPs while 11 were issued warnings.

Islamabad

Four people died for Covid-19 in Islamabad on Thursday while 81 more tested positive for the disease.

Capital administration officials said that 81 people tested positive on Thursday, when 1,973 tests were conducted in the city. On Wednesday, 93 people were diagnosed with the disease and 2,078 tests were carried out.

Islamabad has now reported 13,731 confirmed cases of Covid-19, 10,240 recoveries and 146 deaths. There are currently 3,345 active cases in the city, down from 3,569 on Wednesday.

Three of the patients who died on Thursday were residents of G-9, G-10 and G-13, while the address of one of the deceased patients is not known.

Of the new cases, 12 cases were reported from G-7, nine from Khanna, seven each from Lohibher and Tarlai, six from I-8, four each from G-8 and I-9, three each from Bhara Kahu and I-9, two each from G-9, Sohan, F-8, Alipur and Kurri, and one each from G-10, G-11, F-6, G-13, G-5, Koral, G-15, H-13, B-17, Chirrah, Sihala, G-14, Jhangi Syedan, I-14, H-9 and D-15.

The capital administration also sealed three restaurants and 11 shops on Thursday for violating SOPs issued to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Other shopkeepers were fined Rs17,000 for violations, while Rs2,700 in fines were imposed on individuals who violated SOPs as well.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2020