LAHORE: Though Punjab witnessed a decline in Covid deaths during recent few days, the positivity rate is alarmingly increasing across the province, particularly in Lahore.

According to official figures, the infectivity rate in Punjab reached 13.5 while in the provincial capital 22.

The health officials said the coronavirus was spreading fast from major cities to small districts of the province.

They said the percentage of Covid patients with complications was also declining, bringing down admission ratio in both public and private sector hospitals.

The data in this regard showed that bed occupancy in the high dependency units of the both state-run and private hospitals dropped to 36.4 per cent while in intensive care units 71.8pc. This showed the number of patients with mild symptoms of the virus was increasing as compared to those getting severe complications.

According to the official figures, a total of 209 critical patients are struggling for life on ventilators in 21 government sector teaching hospitals of the city, while 21 on the ventilators of private hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Covid claimed the lives of 26 more patients during the last 24 hours in Punjab, taking the toll to 9,058.

Similarly, the total number of infections reached 319,365 after 1,393 more people tested positive for the virus during the same period in Punjab.

Of them 501 were reported from Lahore while others from Lodhran, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Jhang, Bahawalnagar, Khushab, Layyah, Sheikhupura, Narowal, Gujrat, Kasur, Okara, Bhakkar, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Muzaffargarh, Sialkot, Chiniot, Jhelum, Mianwali, Mandi Bahauddin, Khanewal, Nankana Sahib and Hafizabad.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2021