LAHORE: Punjab reported 10 Covid deaths during the last 24 hours, the lowest so far, taking the tally to 10,567 across the province.

Of them, eight deaths occurred in the provincial capital only, showing the lowest number of virus casualties recorded in a day in Lahore as well the province during the three waves of the epidemic.

According to the Covid update released here on Wednesday, the total number of the infections reached 344,379 after 183 more people tested positive for the virus during the last 24 hours in Punjab.

Of them, only 69 cases were reported in Lahore.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Specialised Healthcare Department in pursuance of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has started supplying Pfizer vaccine at vaccination centres established in four big cities of the province, including Lahore.

While presiding over a meeting here on Wednesday, Health Secretary Nabeel Awan said that vaccination centres established in the Punjab Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI), Lahore, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Lahore, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, and Nishtar Hospital, Multan, have started vaccinating citizens with Pfizer vaccine.

The health secretary said that three types of patients who were registered with the Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority, AIDS Control Programme and cancer projects were being vaccinated with Pfizer.

The second dose of the vaccine would be administered to them after a gap of 21 days, the health secretary said.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2021