TAXILA: The number of Covid-19 cases rose by two in Attock on Thursday, bringing the total to 43.

According to health officials, one of the new patients was a close contact of a patient who previously tested positive for the disease and is admitted to the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex hospital in Kamra.

The second is a member of the Tableeghi Jamaat, part of a group of 12 who recently returned from the Jhal Magsi district in of Balochistan. The other 11 members of the group have been quarantined and samples from them have been collected.

Dr Asif Arbab Niazi, the district’s focal person for Covid-19, said that of the total number of cases, 22 are of local transmission and 21 of imported transmission as five patients have a travel history, seven are from the Tableeghi Jamaat and nine are pilgrims who returned from Iran.

He said two deaths from Covid-19 have been reported in the district so far.

The number of suspected patients has increased to 757, he added. A total of 2,875 people have been screened and the results of 99 people are awaited from the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.

To a question, Dr Niazi said that seven people who are being treated for Covid-19 are various health centres are stable, as are 19 patients who are being housed in quarantine facilities. A total of 15 patients have recovered and allowed to return home.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2020