LAHORE: The Punjab province reported 325 new positive dengue and 278 Covid cases during the last 24 hours.

Of the new dengue cases, 229 were recorded in Lahore, 56 in Rawalpindi, 6 in Multan, 5 in Hafizabad, 4 each in Attock and Gujrat etc, according to the official data released here on Wednesday.

About Covid, it said, of the new positive cases, 154 were reported in Lahore, 24 in Rawalpindi, 20 in Faisalabad, 16 each in Multan and Sargodha, 7 each in Gujrat and Gujranwala, 5 in Rahim Yar Khan, whereas 3 cases each were reported in Kasur and Sheikhupura.

The Covid claimed eight lives in Punjab during the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 12,797 so far.

The coronavirus positivity rate in Punjab dropped to 1.6 per cent while it was reported 3.5 percent in Lahore, 1.8 percent in Rawalpindi, 1.8 percent in Faisalabad, 1.3 percent in Multan and 0.2 per cent in Gujranwala.

The health department said that the Covid cases are on the decline but people would have to follow guidelines to eliminate it completely form the province.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2021