PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday recorded 1,961 coronavirus cases, the highest in a single day since the outbreak of the infection in Feb 2020.
The rising Covid-19 incidence prompted the Peshawar administration to lock down eight more areas in the district.
Of the new cases, 915 were reported in the provincial capital, which has half of the province’s patient tally recorded since the start of the virus almost two years ago.
The Covid-19 positivity rate in Khyber tribal district reached 55 per cent, Nowshera 47 per cent, Kohat 43 per cent and Peshawar 36 per cent, according to a health department report.
Peshawar admin locks down eight more areas
The report said the virus claimed one life in Peshawar, while the number of people infected with it was 340 in Nowshera, 161 in Mardan, 93 in Kohat, 75 in Mansehra, 67 in Malakand, 62 in Swabi and Abbottabadeach, 44 in Lower Chitral, 27 in Khyber, 21 in Swat and 20 in Dera Ismail Khan.
According to it, the province’s total deaths from the virus reached 5,996 with Peshawar recording most i.e. 2,924, while the cases totalled 192,539.
The report said of the infected people in the province, 176,559 (93 per cent) had recovered, while there were 9,984 active cases. A total of 207 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the district administration closed many schools in Peshawar until further orders over the detection of Covid-19 among students and staff members.
They included Government Middle School Zareef Kor UC Jogani, Government Girls Higher Secondary School (Girls) Sahibzada Shakeel Umar Khan Dabgari Gardens, Government Girls Commerce College Dalazak Road, Government Higher Secondary School (Boys) Pakha Ghulam, Government Primary School Qadeem Killi, Government Girls Higher Secondary School Chamkani and Government Girls Primary School Dalazak Road. The Shaheed Benazir Women University was also closed.
The administration said on the recommendations of the district health officer that the Covid-19 patients should be quarantined at home, while the relevant police stations should ensure that no public movement takes places in their educational institutions. It added that the DHO had been asked to offer periodic medical assistance to schools, while staff members and students aged 12 and above should be inoculated against the virus at the time of the campus re-opening.
A WHO report said 267 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospitals in the province and 13 of them were on ventilator.
It said the overall Covid-19 infectivity level in the province was 4.6 per cent, while the bed occupancy was 13 per cent in Peshawar and 12 per cent in Swabi.
Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2022
