RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: As the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise, the district administration on Wednesday imposed smart lockdowns in five areas of the garrison city till Nov 28.

On the other hand, five more people died in the federal capital and Taxila while another 497 contracted the virus in the twin cities. However, the positivity rate in Islamabad dropped to 7.14pc from 11.78pc reported a day earlier.

Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Anwarul Haq told Dawn that the areas that were sealed had been identified through the data provided by the Punjab Information Technology Board. He said the home department issued a notification, sealing Defence Housing Authority Phase-I sector C, Gulshanabad, Street 10 on Hali Road, Allama Iqbal Street in Muslim Town Block B4 and Bahria Town Phase-III till Nov 28. Mr Haq said: “The number of Covid-19 patients had been increasing in these areas, therefore the district administration decided to seal them.”

Lockdown to remain in force till 28th; Another five die in Islamabad, Taxila; capital sees drop in positivity rate

He said the administration was working on creating awareness among people to adopt safety measures, adding that it was everyone’s duty to take precautions to avoid further spread of the virus.

A total of 71 patients tested positive in the garrison city while 41 were discharged from hospitals after recovering. Meanwhile, five more people died in Islamabad and Taxila on Wednesday while the positivity rate in the capital dropped to 7.14 from 11.78 reported on Tuesday.

The capital administration officials said three deaths were reported on Wednesday and 426 more people tested positive. Though 227 positive cases and three deaths were recorded on Tuesday, a drop in positivity rate was attributed to the 5,975 tests conducted on Wednesday compared to 1,917 the previous day, the officials added.The three patients who died on Wednesday were under treatment in different hospitals of Islamabad, the officials said, adding that though their condition was serious, they were not on ventilators.

The officials further said that two educational institutions were sealed after five cases were detected. They said IMCB, I-10/1, reported three cases while two persons were found infected in Roots International School, G-15. The total number of institutions so far sealed in the capital is 133 with eight having been reopened.

Taxila

Two persons lost their lives to the virus in Taxila and 13 more were infected on Wednesday.

Sources in the health department confirmed that two women - residents of Gulistan Colony and Gulshan Colony in Wah Cantonment - succumbed to the virus on Wednesday and were buried under the Covid-19 protocol. They said the number of coronavirus cases was constantly rising.

Deputy District Officer Health Dr Sara Qadeer said among the newly-detected cases, six were from the same family and were residents of Sajjad Town in ward 7 of Wah Cantonment. She said the tally of positive cases had increased to 641 while the number of active patients in the tehsil had reached 150.

Responding to a question, Dr Qadeer said casualties from Covid-19 had risen to 24, adding that the active patients had been isolated with none admitted.

In Attock, two educational institutions were sealed after their staff and students tested positive.

Government Girls Elementary School Burhan in Hassanabdal was closed for three days after a teacher was found having the virus. The authorities later disinfected the institution and collected samples of other staff and students. Similarly, Fauji Foundation School in Fatehjang was sealed after five of its students tested positive.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Dr Jawad Elahi confirmed that two educational institutions had been closed after emergence of cases, saying positive cases in Attock district had crossed the 700 mark.

Gujar Khan

As many as 17 people were infected in Gujar Khan and Jhelum on Wednesday. Gujar Khan saw another 11 people contracting the virus with the tally rising to 411 in the tehsil.

According to health authorities, the new patients had been isolated in their homes and samples of their relatives collected. They said 51 positive cases had emerged in the last four days in the tehsil.

On the other hand, six people were found having the virus in Jhelum district while one school was sealed, CEO Jhelum Dr Waseem Iqbal said on Wednesday.

Murree

Three restaurants were sealed in Murree for non-compliance of the standard operating procedures.

On the directives of Assistant Commissioner Murree Waqar Hussain, a team inspected various eateries in the hill station and found two on The Mall and one on Murree Expressway violating the health guidelines.

— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal, Hamid Asghar & Abid Fazil Abbasi

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2020