LAHORE: Forty-six more people died of the Covid-19 and 722 tested positive for the virus in the province during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to131,428.

As many as 407 new coronavirus positive cases were reported in Lahore alone, 55 in Rawalpindi, 38 in Bahawalpur, 33 in Faisalabad, 24 in Bahawalnagar, 22 in Okara, 20 in Sargodha, 19 in Multan, 11 in Bhakkar, 10 in Sahiwal and Rahim Yar Khan each, nine in Mianwali and in Khushab each, six in Gujranwala, five in Hafizabad, four in Sialkot, four each in Jhang, Muzaffargarh, Pakpattan and Gujrat, three in DG Khan, two each in Toba Tek Singh, Mandi Bahauddin, Khanewal and Sheikhupura and one each in Vehari, Lodhran, Attock, Narowal, Chiniot, Jhelum, Kasur and Layyah.

The province also witnessed an increase in the number of fatalities in the last 24 hours with 46 more deaths reportedduring in different areas with the death toll rising to 3,604.

Sixteen Covid-19 patients died in Rawalpindi, 12 lost their life in Lahore, five in Muzaffargarh, two each in Multan, Mianwali, Sargodha and Faisalabad and one each in Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum and Rahim Yar Khan.

With 407 new cases, Lahore has become the hotspot of the virus where the number of deaths and active cases of the infection remained the highest since the pandemic struck Punjab.

The total number of the confirmed cases in Lahore has reached 64,370 with 1,432 deaths so far, according to the official figures released by the provincial government on Sunday.

A senior Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawnt hat the people were violating the standard operating procedures during the second wave of the pandemic.

He said the administration was also reluctant to implement the SOPs as no steps were being taken to make the people accountable for SOPs’ violations.

Talking about the vaccine, he said, “The public does not know that vaccines can’t reach Pakistan soon and it may take a year or more (to be available in Pakistan)”.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2020