RAWALPINDI: Another 18 people tested positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi district on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 247.

The district administration and police have also sealed Farooqia Mohallah in Ratta Amral after a patient tested positive there.

Health authority officials said that a Covid-19 patient was brought to the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) from Dhoke Thathal on Chakri Road. They said health authorities have quarantined 13 of the patient’s contacts, all of them relatives, at home.

A Punjab Bank official in Saddar has tested positive as well, and has been admitted to the hospital for treatment. The bank management has disinfected the bank.

They said the number of recovered patients in Rawalpindi city has reached 38. A total of 68 people have recovered in the division, including one person in Attock, one in Chakwal and 23 in Jhelum.

Farooqia Mohallah sealed after patient tests positive, bank official admitted to hospital

There are currently 205 confirmed patients admitted to Rawalpindi hospitals, six people have died and 38 have been discharged.

At least 272 people are still in hospital in the four districts - 205 in Rawalpindi, 48 in Jhelum, 12 in Attock and seven in Chakwal. Another 207 people are still waiting for their test results, which the National Institute of Health will send in a day or two.

A total of 589 suspected patients have visited hospitals, of which 382 were discharged after they tested negative.

In addition, 1,744 people have been quarantined, including 1,512 people isolated in their homes, 196 in quarantine facilities and 37 in hospitals.

At least 460 members of the Tableeghi Jamaat have been quarantined in Rawalpindi division - 198 in Jhelum, 178 in Rawalpindi district, 73 in Attock and 11 in Chakwal. Another 12 preachers have been isolated at home, 145 in mosques and 138 in quarantine centres in the division.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that although there has not been a rapid rise in the number of patients, the government has asked the administrations of all four districts to increase the number of beds in hospitals as a precaution for an emergency situation.

He said that the number of confirmed cases in Rawalpindi division has increased to 344, but 61 people have recovered which is a positive sign.

“We had developed four high dependency units in the four districts, Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal, to accommodate more than 40 people who require ventilators. We can accommodate 5,194 people in quarantines established at 46 sites,” he said.

He added that 7,998 people have beentestedfor the disease in the division. The testing capacity will be increased further as a separate laboratory is being constructed at Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2020