SAHIWAL: The district administration and health officials have demanded complete ban on outdoor weddings and dining in Sahiwal just as is the case with nine cities of Punjab.

With the number of Covid-19 cases on the rise, the administration fears that the existing health facilities could collapse if drastic measures are not immediately taken. Officials of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department have conveyed their concern to the authorities that the ongoing wave has put a major chunk of population under serious threat.

The data showed, they said, there are 1,717 positive cases and 40 to 50 new cases are emerging with 90pc in home isolation.

They said more than 438 patients had been kept in isolation at private places. Of the 38,258 samples, 33,323 have been declared negative and reports of 3,306 people are awaited.

Half of ventilators not working

District Health Authority CEO Dr Abdul Majeed said only two coronavirus wards had been established in the district.

It is learnt that only six of the 12 ventilators are in working condition. The CEO said four ventilators were working at the DHQ hospital and two at Haji Qayyum hospital.

Deputy Commissioner Babar Bashir said 16 monitoring teams had been assigned the duty to ensure compliance of the SOPs at different locations of the district.

He said they had asked the authorities concerned to ban outdoor weddings and other activities to prevent the spread of the virus.

CLUELESS: Police have failed to find any clue to a first-year student who went missing two weeks ago.

Muhammad Ahmed, 19, a resident of 60/D village, was living in a private hostel near vegetable market on Church Road.

His father Shameer Ali told Dawn that on Feb 21 last he left the village for hostel but did not reach his destination.

He did not reach the hostel nor did he attend the college the next day and his mobile phone also did not respond.

The city police registered a case against unknown kidnappers but they have failed to find a clue.

The parents have demanded that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and the RPO order police to expedite hunt for the missing child.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2021