ISLAMABAD: As many as 27 new Covid-19 cases surfaced in Rawalpindi and Islamabad districts on Sunday as the positivity rate in the region continued to decline.

With a continuous decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, closing the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and shifting responsibility of dealing with data related to the virus to the National Institute of Health, Centre for Disease Control (NIH-CDC), is being considered.

This was stated by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan while talking to Dawn.

As many as 21 people were diagnosed with the virus in Islamabad district whereas six contracted the disease in Rawalpindi district. However, no casualty was reported. A total of 1,146 samples were collected for testing in Rawalpindi district out of which 1,130 were declared negative.

Positivity ratio in Islamabad was calculated at 1.06pc whereas Rawalpindi’s infection ratio stood at 0.5pc.

The NCOC, which was established on March 27, 2020, shares data related to the pandemic after every eight hours.

The Ministry of National Health Services spokesperson, Sajid Shah, said all indicators were showing that the number of cases was reducing.

In the last week of January, the trend of positive cases was at its peak with the positivity recorded at 16.4pc; about 9,037 cases were reported in a single week.

“However, the situation was controlled in February and with the passage of every week, cases started declining,” Mr Shah said.

The NCOC has saved Rs50 billion in terms of communication and media campaigns and received appreciation from Bill Gates, World Health Organisation (WHO) and so on.

It is worth mentioning that the NCOC produced a number of messages, videos and promos which were published and played in print and electronic media free of cost. According to estimates, the government would have paid Rs50 billion, if the media had charged for awareness messages and campaigns.

A senior officer of the ministry said Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar was the person who converted the idea into a practical centre through the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Meanwhile, in Rawalpindi district, there are 107 active patients. As many as eight patients are in hospitals and 99 are home isolated. Two patients each were reported from cantonment and city areas while one patient each was reported in Potohar Town and Kahuta.

There are eight patients admitted in different hospitals of Rawalpindi city including one at Bilal Hospital, two at Fauji Foundation Hospital and five patients at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology.

There is one patient on a ventilator, five patients on oxygen support and one is stable.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2022