ISLAMABAD: While 640,000 people in the federal capital are now partially or fully vaccinated, which is 43pc of the district’s population, the Covid-19 positivity rate has been rising for the third consecutive week, making the relevant authorities consider imposing smart lockdowns in hotspot areas.

According to data, 845,000 doses have been administered in the federal capital.

On the other hand, 164 more people were found infected on Sunday out of the 1,941 tests that were conducted, with the positivity rate recorded at 8.4pc. The weekly positivity rate has been rising for the third consecutive week, reaching 6.64pc. Due to the situation, the city authorities are considering imposing a smart lockdown in a few areas.

“We have been vaccinating around 18,000 people daily at our vaccination centres as well as at mobile and drive-through facilities. Moreover we have been testing people more than any other city due to which it becomes possible to identify hot spots and enforce lockdowns,” an official of the Ministry of National Health Services said, adding that, “we have identified some areas and are considering imposing smart lockdowns there”.

43pc of capital’s population partially or fully vaccinated, ministry official says

According to a document, available with Dawn, the situation in the city is back to where it was in the first half of May. The weekly positivity from May 10 to 16 was 6.8pc and then it started decreasing and reached 0.9pc with only 221 positive cases reported in the last week of June (21-27).

From July 12 to 18 the positivity ratio was 6.6pc with 916 cases reported during the week.

District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia told Dawn that the number of cases was increasing but the good thing was that a large number of people were vaccinated in the federal capital.

“Vaccinating 43pc people, fully or partially, is much better than other cities. The major challenge is Eidul Azha and we urge masses to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) so that the virus does not spread rapidly. People should avoid unnecessary travelling and wear masks,” he said.

Rawalpindi

As many as 108 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi district on Sunday and 71 patients were discharged from the hospital after recovering during the last 24 hours. No Covid-19 related casualty has been reported in the district in the last three days.

There are 757 active patients in the district out of whom 150 are in hospitals, including 20 who arrived from other districts, and 607 are home isolated.

As many as 38 patients are from cantonment areas, 28 from Potohar Town and 33 from Rawal Town. Four patients arrived from Taxila, two from Gujar Khan and one each from Kotli Sattian and Murree. One patient arrived from Islamabad.

The new patients were admitted to different hospitals of Rawalpindi city including 19 at Holy Family Hospital, 18 at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 29 at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology, 23 at Fauji Foundation Hospital and two in Bilal Hospital.

There are four patients on ventilators in Rawalpindi, 49 are on oxygen support and 38 are stable.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2021