ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The federal capital saw its biggest increase in Covid-19 cases in a single day since the outbreak began, after 16 more cases were reported on Tuesday. The total number of confirmed cases has jumped from 245 to 261 in the last 24 hours.

A Covid-19 patient has also died at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), hospital spokesperson Dr Wasim Khawaja told Dawn. The deceased was a 65-year-old resident of Rawalpindi who was brought to Pims on April 22 and kept in the isolation ward; he had no travel history and contracted the virus by local transmission, he said.

Dr Khawaja said the death toll at Pims reached four in the last two days; three people - an 89-year-old man from G-13 in Islamabad, a 65-year-old man from Dheri Hassanabdal in Rawalpindi and a woman from Taxila - died in the Pims isolation ward on Monday.

The woman’s husband has also been tested for Covid-19 and his results are awaited, Dr Khawaja said. He added that there are currently 17 patients being treated at Pims.

12 more diagnosed in Rawalpindi, three in Taxila; no new case reported in Attock

Capital administration officials said that of the total number of cases, 36 people have recovered and four have died. Islamabad currently has 221 active cases.

There are another 23 Covid-19 patients who are being treated in the capital but are not residents.

The majority of the 16 new cases have been reported from urban areas, administration officials said.

Four were reported from G-8 and three from F-7. Two cases each were reported from Bhara Kahu and G-13, and one case each from G-6, F-6, E-11, G-11 and I-11.

Healthcare staff and administration officialshave screened 62suspected patients and 118 people were traced and tested after having been in contact with confirmed patients.

They have also been asked to self-isolate for two weeks; 232 houses were visiteddue to the presence of suspected patientsand safety measures placed around them to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Bhara Kahu is once more reporting the highest number of positive cases, with 30 overall. Tarlai has the second highest with 28, followed by 22 in I-10, 19 in Lohi Bher, 15 in G-8 and 13 each in G-6 and G-10.

There are 19 patients at four hospitals, eight in quarantine facilities and the rest are isolated at home; 344 suspected patients are being kept in quarantine centres.

Of the total number of patients, 44 are housewives, 37 are healthcare professionals, 33 are students, 22 are government officials, 13 are businesspeople, 10 are media professionals, nine are shopkeepers and there are seven teachers, retired officials and labourers each.

12 more cases in Rawalpindi

Two people have died and 12 more have tested positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi, while 20 patients were discharged after recovering from the disease on Tuesday.

The total number of Covid-19 casesin Rawalpindihas risen to 476 in the last month.

A 60-year-old resident of Saidpur Road in Satellite Town who was brought to the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) on April 7 after he tested positive for Covid-19 died early on Tuesday, as did another patient, a 65-year-old resident of Mohanpura near City Saddar Road who was brought to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) on April 27.

A senior health authority official told Dawn that the deceased contracted Covid-19 through local transmission. He said their relatives have been quarantined in their homes and their samples collected for testing.

There are currently 331 patients admitted to various hospitals, including 111 in RIU, 10 in BBH, 24 in district and tehsil headquarters hospitals and one at Holy Family Hospital. The remaining patients are admitted to Pims and private hospitals.

Four patients have been placed on ventilators and 12 are critical.

According to official data, 182 patients have come from Rawal Town, 77 from the cantonment areas, 66 from Potohar Town, 44 from Gujar Khan,eight from Murree, five from Kahuta and three from Kallar Syedan.

Local administrations have kept 2,278 people in quarantine; 2,063 are quarantined at home, 150 in hospitals and 65 in quarantine centres. There are 173 members of the Tableeghi Jamaat who have been isolated in their homes in Rawalpindi.

Three test positive in Taxila

Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Faheem said the number of Covid-19 cases in the city has reached 26 after three more people tested positive.

He said six of the patients are being treated at RIU, six at the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Hospital in Wah and one each at BBH and Wah General Hospital; the rest are quarantined.

Four people have also recovered from the disease.

The number of suspected patients quarantined at the University of Engineering and Technology rose to 15.

Separately, a quarantine centre set up in a school near Burhan in Hassanabdal has the highest number of suspected patients in the district, with 37 people quarantined there, Mr Faheem said.

He said 25 people are from the same family, from Peer Mandiyla village, who began showing symptoms after visiting Karachi. The other 12 are also from the same family and are from Khaliqdad village; two members of the family tested positive after they visited Karachi as well.

No new cases reported in Attock

Attock district has not reported any new case of Covid-19 in the last 48 hours.

Dr Asif Arbab Niazi, the district’s focal person for Covid-19, told the press that six members of the Tableeghi Jamaat who were quarantined in Hazro have tested negative and will be allowed to return home soon.— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2020