ISLAMABAD: As 400 more people were found infected with Covid-19 on a single day, the district administration has decided to enforce a smart lockdown in 16 localities of the federal capital.

Three people succumbed to the disease in Rawalpindi district whereas the positivity ratio was 8.9pc. The deceased were identified as Fakharun Nisa, 53, a resident of Gujar Khan, who was brought to Fauji Foundation Hospital; Irum Shahzadi, 39, resident of Defence Road, admitted to Kalsoom International Hospital on Aug 27 and Waheeda Hanif, 65, a resident of Khanna Road, who died at Fauji Foundation Hospital.

Moreover, an educational institution and its hostel were closed after detection of eight cases there.

The district administration, in a notification, stated that on the basis of surveillance activities of the District Health Office (DHO) surveillance teams and Covid-19 test results from public and private laboratories/hospitals, it was observed that there were more Covid-19 cases in a few streets/areas/sub-sectors compared to the rest of Islamabad.

“Thus, it was recommended to restrict movement in the streets in order to avoid any further spread of infection,” it added.

Areas in which the smart lockdown has been suggested to be enforced are: Street 54 and 56 in G-7/2, Street 9 in I-10/2, Street 112 in I-10/4, Street 1 in G-9/2, Street 34 and 52 in G-9/1, Street 2, 8, 10, 70, 77, 122, 125 and 126 in G-9/3 and Street 11 in Sector E-11/4.

According to data from the health department, 6,330 samples were collected on Saturday, of which 400 were found positive on Sunday.

The weekly positivity dropped from 7.66pc (Aug 16 to Aug 22) to 7.09pc last week (Aug 23 to Aug 29) as 2,709 cases were reported last week compared to 2,247 cases in the previous week (Aug 16 to Aug 22).

The positivity has dropped because of the increase in the number of tests as 38,094 tests were conducted last week compared to 29,278 tests in the week before that.

Furthermore, after the detection of eight cases, the Federal Medical College, G-8/4, along with its hostel was also closed.

Rawalpindi

As many as 208 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in the district and 58 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

In Rawalpindi district, there are 2,095 active patients - 205 in hospitals and 1,890 home isolated.

Officials said 43 patients arrived in hospitals from cantonment areas, 52 from city areas, 27 from Potohar Town, 21 from Taxila, 18 from Kallar Syedan, five from Kahuta, one from Kotli Sattian, 19 from Murree, five from Attock, four patients each from Islamabad and Chakwal and one patient each from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Jhelum.

As many as 205 patients were admitted in hospitals including 25 in Holy Family Hospital, 32 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 90 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), four in District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, 45 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH), five in Bilal Hospital, two each in Hearts International Hospital and Begum Akhter Sultana Trust Hospital.

There are 10 patients on ventilators, 112 on oxygen and 83 are stable.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2021