ISLAMABAD: While 129 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the federal capital on Thursday, four more educational institutions were sealed after detection of two or more cases among their students and staff.

The sealed institutions, both private and public, are located at Kund Rajgan in Chatta Bakhtawar, F-10/2 and G-6/2.

Meanwhile, a medical college, which was among the sealed institutions, issued a circular stating that fourth and first-year MBBS classes will be held online from Oct 22 to Nov 1.

All students have been advised to strictly adhere to the SOPs for Covid-19 and avoid roaming around in the public.

Moreover, routine academic activities at the institution will resume on November 2.

District Health Officer Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia told Dawn that 4,408 tests were conducted and 129 cases were found positive on Thursday.

“We have been tracing almost 50pc cases through the tracing, testing and quarantine (TTQ) policy which is used through contact tracing,” he said. Dr Zia said all possible efforts were being made to curb the virus and stop another spike.

“Whenever a case is reported, we declare it as a hotspot and start intensive sampling to ensure that all positive patients are quarantined and break the chain,” he said.

Rawalpindi

Five patients died of Covid-19 in Rawalpindi on Thursday while 24 more people tested positive and 20 patients recovered from the disease and were discharged from hospitals.

A 73-year-old man from Murree was brought to the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) on Oct 21 where he died on Thursday morning.

A 52-year-old patient from Askari-III near Chaklala Scheme-III was admitted to the HFH on Oct 21 but he died there late on Wednesday night.

A woman, aged 85, from Garhi Afghan was admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Oct 21 where she died on Thursday.

A 67-year-old man from Wah Model Town also died of the virus late on Wednesday.

Another patient, aged 58, from Faisal Road Basti passed away at Pakistan Ordinance Factory Hospital.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that most of the confirmed patients were recovering fast.

He said HFH has been declared as a focal hospital for coronavirus patients as work continued to make the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology functional for kidney transplant patients.

He said all Covid-19 patients have been shifted to the special wards at the HFH.

He said the number of patients was increasing but recovery of the confirmed patients also remained high.

He said 179 confirmed patients are under treatment, including 19 at the HFH. Moreover, 160 patients have chosen to isolate themselves in their homes.

The local administrations also claimed to have kept 540 people in quarantine.

Taxila

Two more persons tested positive in Attock, taking the tally to 650 in the district.

According to a report issued by the health department, a 57-year-old woman who was home isolated died in her house at Dhoke Fateh.

The two new cases were reported in Hazro. District focal person for Covid-19 Dr Asif Arbab Niazi said there are 14 active patients in the district who are under home isolation.

He said the number of suspected cases in the district stood at 16,669 while screening of 20,111 people had been carried out so far.

He said results of 2,867 suspected patients were still awaited. So far, 615 positive patients have recovered. — Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2020