ISLAMABAD: The twin cities saw a rise in the number of casualties as seven more people lost their lives to Covid-19 on Thursday while another 427 people contracted the virus. No one was discharged from hospitals after recovery in the last one week and the positivity rate rose to 5pc.

Four deaths – two males and two females – were reported in the capital in the age group of 80-89 and 60-79, officials of the capital administration said, adding the deceased were residents of I-8, Tarlai and G-15. The address of one of the deceased persons is still not known.

Patients who passed away in Pindi were identified as Manzoorun Nisa, 74, a resident of Gulistan Colony. She was brought to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) on March 3; Isma Ahmed, 30, a resident of the city area, was admitted to Holy Family Hospital on March 10, and Mohammad Younas, 74, a resident of Dhoke Ghangal, admitted to Bilal Hospital on March 10.

According to officials, 350 cases surfaced in the capital on Thursday, which were the highest reported on a single day since Dec 9, 2020, when 359 cases had emerged. From Dec 9, 2020 to March 10, over 300 cases on a single day were reported once on Dec, 11 2020.

During the last 24 hours, 6,863 tests were conducted and 202 males and 148 females tested positive in Islamabad, officials said, adding 78 cases were reported in the age group of 30-39, followed by 56 in 20-29, 47 each in 10-19 and 40-49, 43 in 50-59, 40 in 0-9, 24 in 60-69, 12 in in 70-79 and three in 80 and above.

Highest number of cases reported on a single day since December

Likewise, 47 cases were reported from Lohi Bher, 33 from G-9, 22 from Bhara Kahu, 17 from G-6, 15 each from G-7, G-10, Tarlai, 12 each I-8, I-10, F-11, G-8, H-13, 11 each from G-11, E-11, Sohan, nine from G-13, seven each from F-6, Alipur, six each from Khanna, D-12, five each from Chak Shahzad, Sihala, four each from Rawat, Koral, G-14, Kurri, three each from F-7, Rawal Town, H-8, two each from F-10, F-8, G-5, Model Town, and one each from I-9, Kirpa, H-12, I-14, Gokina, I-12, and E-10. Addresses of eight cases were not known.

Furthermore, 54 people in Pindi tested positive from city and cantonment areas including 13 from cantonment while 18 patients arrived from Potohar Town and 23 from Rawal Town.

Five patients each arrived from Gujar Khan and Kallar Syedan, two from Kahuta, one patient from Taxila, seven patients from Islamabad and one patient each arrived from Attock, Gujrat and Chakwal.

In Rawalpindi district, there are currently 623 active patients. As many as 234 are in hospitals including 35 who arrived from other districts and 389 patients are home isolated. As many as 441 patients are awaiting the results of their Covid-19 serology.

Around 13 patients are admitted in Holy Family Hospital, 13 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 34 in RIU, 23 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH), three patients in Red Crescent Corona Care Centre and one in Attock Hospital Rawalpindi.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that eight patients are on ventilators in Rawalpindi, 35 are on oxygen support and 44 are stable.

He said 18,413 people tested positive for Covid-19 since March 2020 including 14,857 in Rawalpindi (13,545 from the district and 1,312 from outside), 1340 in Attock (1,309 from the district and 31 from outside), 1,563 in Jhelum and 653 in Chakwal.

Attock

The Attock district on Thursday witnessed another spike in Covid-19 infections as eight more people were diagnosed with the disease during the last 24 hours.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Dr Jawad Ellahi said among newly detected patients four belong to Hazro, two each belong to Attock city and Hassanabdal. The number of active patients in the district is 50 out of whom 48 are home isolated while two others are hospitalised, he said, adding one suspected patient is also admitted in the hospital.

The number of suspected patients in the district is 26,545 currently while screening of 29,797 people has been carried out across the district since the beginning of the pandemic. Around 25,157 were tested negative.

Responding to a question, he said the results of 48 suspected patients are awaited. — Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2021