• PM’s aide says closure was administrative decision
• Ministry official claims burden had shifted to other centres
• Two die of Covid-19 as cases continue to rise in Pindi, Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has directed reopening of the mass vaccination centre in F-9 Park after strong protests by citizens and severe criticism on social media against its closure.
On the other hand, Covid-19 claimed two lives and infected over 450 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in a single day.
District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia confirmed that the centre would open on Monday (Jan 17), saying that the decision had been taken to facilitate residents of the city.
The vaccination centre in F-9 Park, which had around 200 employees and inoculated over 3,500 people on a daily basis, was suddenly closed in the first week of the current month, with rumours going around that it was shut down on the pressure of influential people who came to walk in the park.
Reacting to the rumours, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan had said it was purely an administrative decision and people should not link it to any controversy.
“Since 77pc of the residents had already been vaccinated and the mobile vaccination facility also introduced, it was decided to close the centre,” Dr Sultan said, adding that there was no proposal to close any other vaccination centre in the city.
Resident of the federal capital, on the other hand, were of the view that F-9 Park was the only centre where people did not have to wait for vaccination and had proper parking arrangement.
Meanwhile, an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, requesting not to be named, agreed that the closure of F-9 Park vaccination centre had shifted the burden on other centres.
“Chances of the virus spreading had increased at other centres as people had to wait for hours,” he said.
When contacted, Dr Zia confirmed that the NCOC had directed that the F-9 vaccination centre be opened.
“It will become functional from tomorrow (Monday),” he said, adding that the decision had been made to facilitate people as government did not want them to suffer.
Meanwhile, one person succumbed to coronavirus and 354 more cases surfaced in Islamabad as the positivity rate continued to rise in the capital.
Officials of the district administration said the deceased female was in her 60s and was a resident of Lohi Bher. With the latest casualty, the death toll in the capital has reached 969.
According to data, 354 people got infected on Saturday compared to 300 the previous day.
During the last 24 hours, 5,093 tests were conducted and the results of 207 males and 147 females came back positive. The infection rate was calculated at 6.93pc compared to 5.54pc a day earlier.
According to officials, 39 cases were reported from Lohi Bher, followed by 21 from F-10, 19 from I-9, 18 surfaced from F-7, 16 from F-8, 14 each from Rawat and G-10, 13 from Bhara Kahu, 12 each from F-6 and F-11, nine from G-6, eight each from E-11 and I-8, seven from I-10, six from G-13, five each from G-5, G-9, G-11 and Chak Shahzad, four each from Tarlai, Sihala and E-7, three each from G-8 and Alipur, two each from D-12, G-7, Kurri, Sohan, G-14, G-15, I-12, E-9 and Model Town and one each from Shah Allah Ditta, F-15, I-11, H-13, Bari Imam, E-16, E-18, and I-14.
The tally of Covid-19 cases in Islamabad has reached 110,597, the officials said, adding that out of the total 107,969 recovered and 969 died.
The number of active cases in Islamabad has risen to 1,659, the officials said, adding that 53 were admitted to different hospitals and the rest had been quarantined.
Rawalpindi
One person died and 114 people tested positive for Covid-19, including six for the Omicron variant, in Rawalpindi district on Saturday.
On the other hand, 21 people were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus during the last 24 hours. A total of 1,504 samples were collected out of which results of 114 people came back positive.
“Six people in Rawalpindi were diagnosed with the Omicron strain, however, their condition was satisfactory and were isolated in their homes,” District Health Authority spokesman Dr Waqar Ahmed said.
He said the patients were from Shalley Valley, Range Road, Al Noor Colony, Westridge, Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, Dhoke Syedan and Chaklala Scheme III.
The Omicron variant was detected in four people last week.
Dr Ahmed said the condition of the patients was stable and all were in the recovery stage.
According to data, the deceased was identified as Mohammad Fazal, 90, a resident of Murree. He was brought to Fauji Foundation Hospital on Jan 14 and died on Saturday.
The data further revealed that the positivity ratio in the district had risen to 7.58pc.
There are 530 active patients in the district, with 40 patients in hospitals and 490 home isolated.
Most of the Covid-19 patients arrived from the cantonment areas. As many as 35 cases were reported from different parts of Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonments, 27 came from the city areas and 21 patients from Potohar Town.
A total of 15 Covid-19 patients were detected in Gujar Khan, nine surfaced in Taxila while one patient each came from Kallar Syedan, Kotli Sattian and Murree. Two patients arrived from Islamabad and one each from Chakwal and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
A total of 40 patients were admitted to different hospitals of Rawalpindi city, out of whom 10 were in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, one patient each in District Headquarters Hospital and Holy Family Hospital, 16 were in Fauji Foundation Hospital, 10 were admitted to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and two were under treatment in Attock Hospital Rawalpindi.
Four patients were on ventilator, 27 required oxygen assistance and nine were stable.
Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2022
