ISLAMABAD: As the capital administration conducted crackdowns against violations of standard operating procedures (SOPs) by restaurants, shops, wedding halls and other commercial activities, Covid-19 cases dropped by 25pc over the weekend.

However, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeem Zia said the situation was still not under control and warned the citizens that more restrictions could be imposed if the cases did not decrease in the next few days.

During the weekend, 660 shops, 30 restaurants and two marquees were sealed over violation of the SOPs. Moreover, on Saturday, the district administration officials visited 52 schools and 28 masques to check if they were following the precautionary measures or not. A number of shopkeepers were fined for violations.

The assistant commissioner Secretariat conducted snap visits for price checking, Covid-19 SOPs’ implementation, hygiene and cleanliness of shops, restaurants, etc. The whole PWD market and Bahria Civic Centre were closed in accordance with the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC)’s notification which stated that markets will remain closed on the weekends.

Islamabad reports 571 and Rawalpindi 216 new cases with three deaths

Moreover, a crackdown was conducted on service road (Khanna Bridge) and Lehtrar Road and eight shops and four restaurants found violating the SOPs were sealed.

The team also visited marriage halls along Islamabad Expressway to check SOPs and ventilation arrangements during afternoon events and fined two marriage halls and issued warnings to three others.

Data showed that the weekly positivity rate in the capital was 8.7pc and a total of 3,704 cases were reported during the week compared to 5.03pc positivity and 2,191 cases during the previous week.

However, according to District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia, on Sunday the situation was a bit better as the positivity rate remained 8.4pc compared to 12.5pc on Saturday.

The number of cases, which continuously increased for the last one week, dropped by 25pc. The city had reported 747 cases on Saturday but on Sunday the number dropped to 571 cases against 6,728 tests.

Dr Zia, while talking to Dawn, said that though the situation seemed to be a bit better, he would be satisfied only if the weekly data dropped.

“Over 8pc positivity is also worrisome and we need to bring it down. We have been hoping that the number will drop down in coming days but if it does not happen, we will be left with no option but to go for further restrictions,” he said.

Rawalpindi

The highest number of Covid-19 cases emerged in the district of Rawalpindi in the current year on Sunday as 216 people tested positive with three deaths.

However, 52 patients were discharged from hospitals after their recovery from the disease.

Mishqat Irfani, 88, a resident of Army Welfare Trust Housing Scheme, was brought to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology on March 20 where he died on Sunday.

Ashfaq Butt, 62, a resident of Waris Khan Mohallah, was shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on March 20 where he passed away late on Saturday night.

Safada Begum, 55, also died at Pims where she was admitted on March 20. She was a resident of Allahabad.

With the new cases, the number of confirmed patients in the district reached 16,223. So far, 692 people have died of the disease and 14,145 patients have been discharged after recovery from Rawalpindi’s four main hospitals.

As many as 215 people tested positive in the city and cantonment areas, including 66 from cantonment and 43 patients from Potohar Town and 65 from Rawal Town.

Moreover, 11 patients arrived from Gujar Khan, 17 from Taxila, three from Murree, one patient each from Kotli Sattian and Kahuta and eight from Kallar Syedan. One patient was also brought from Chakwal.

In the district, there are 1,225 active patients - 165 patients in hospitals and 1,060 in home isolation. As many as 551 patients are waiting for the results of Covid-19 serology.

Officials said 24 of the new patients were admitted in Holy Family Hospital, 33 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 77 in Rawalpindi institute of Urology (RIU), 32 patients in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH) and one patient in Hearts International Hospital.

Commissioner Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that 22 patients are on ventilators, 78 on oxygen and 68 are stable.

Attock

The district of Attock witnessed the highest ever spike since March 2020 as 36 new cases were reported on Sunday.

Chief executive officer of District Health Authority Dr Jawad Ellahi said 23 of the new cases belonged to Attock city, seven to Hassanabdal, five to Hazro and one to Jand.

He said that the number of active patients in the district also surged to 115 in which 113 were home isolated while two were hospitalized. He said two suspected patients were also admitted in the district headquarters hospital.

Responding to a question, he said the number of suspected cases in the district was 27,336 while screening of 30,588 persons has been carried out so far. He said the results of 339 suspected patients were still awaited.

Taxila

The tehsil administration of Hazro continued its action against violators of the SOPs and sealed 13 shops besides registration of cases against a hotel owner.

Assistant Commissioner Shagfuta Jabeen paid a surprise visit to various markets and bazaars in Hazro and Kamra and sealed six shops in Hazro and seven in Kamra for violation of the lockdown. A case was also registered against a hotel owner for violation of the SOPs.— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2021