PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded 32 deaths from coronavirus on Monday, the highest number since the onset of the pandemic in single day, raising the province-wide fatalities due to the infection to 707.

The province diagnosed 459 more patients, taking overall cases to 18,472, according to health department report.

The case fatality rate (CFR) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is 3.82 per cent, higher than the 1.88 per cent nationwide. The CFR is much higher in Peshawar where it is 5.49 per cent. Swat, the other hard-hit district, accounts for 3.64 CFR.

Swat recorded 10 deaths, the most fatalities from the virus during the last 24 hours where count of total people fallen prey to the virus reached 64. The district also detected 53 new cases, making its total count 1,755.

Number of fatalities in the province reaches 707

In Peshawar, death toll from the infection reached 351 as six more breathed their last while number of new cases reported in the provincial capital stood at 87, making its full count of positive cases 6,393, the highest number reported by any district in the province.

The city stays atop of fatality list in the province with Swat on the second position. Both Kohat and Abbottabad registered three deaths each where number of dead persons due to Covid-19 reached 34 and 21 respectively.

Both the districts recorded four and 35 new cases, taking the respective total to 292 and 704.

Mardan and Dir Upper reported two deaths each from the virus. So far 39 and 25 have fallen victim to the sickness in these districts respectively. These districts also recorded one and 25 new cases respectively. The number of total infected people there reached 812 and 483, respectively.

Khyber, Swabi, Malakand, Chitral Lower, Hangu and Dera Ismail Khan reported one death each from the virus, the report said.

Chitral Lower reported first death from the pandemic while number of people passing away from the virus reached eight in Khyber, 14 in Swabi, 26 in Malakand, two in Hangu and seven in Dera Ismail Khan.

Dir Lower, where 18 people have fallen to the virus so far, reported 48 new patients, making number of its total confirmed patients 857 while in Karak 22 persons tested positive, making its overall number of virus-hit people 235. So far, six persons have died there due to the virus.

Kurram reported 19 cases, Mansehra 21, Shangla 19, Chitral Upper 15, Nowshera six and Charsadda five where number of total patients reached 245, 261, 258, 50, 515 and 505 respectively.

Tank, South and North Waziristan, Kolai Palas, Kohistan Upper and Lower, Torghar and Chitral Upper are the only districts where mortality has not been reported as yet. All the districts, however, are endemic with the virus, with Kohistan Upper with one case, Torghar two cases, Kohistan Lower four, North Waziristan eight and South Waziristan 10 cases.

The report said that number of patients recovered from the ailment reached 4,692 with 153 more patients healed during the last 24 hours. Peshawar and Malakand divisions remain the epicentres of the virus but Mardan, Hazara, Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan divisions are also contributing to tally of new cases. Lately, there have been upsurge in Peshawar from all the districts, except few from where cases in single digit are coming.

“We are living in a complex society where culturally our people always discuss and believe in conspiracy theories than lessoning to professionals and political leaders and mix faith with it,” Prof Ziaul Haq, the dean of public health at Khyber Medical University, told Dawn.

He said that instead of adopting preventable measures, they had closed their eyes and ignored what was written on the wall and then expected miracles. “This pandemic is as simple as vaccine preventable polio but we are intentionally complicating it,” he added.

Prof Zia said that those, who were infected, should be kept in isolation where within 10 to 15 days they would no more be infectious. “As a public health professional and social scientist, knowing the attitude and health seeking behaviours of our community, I fear that that around 30 to 40 per cent of the population may be infected and we should get ready for it,” he added.

Our correspondent from Khyber adds: The administration has stepped up efforts to stem spread of coronavirus by holding jirgas with tribal elders to garner their support in making the smart lockdown a success in the tribal district.

The assistant commissioner of Landi Kotal, Jamrud and Bara held meetings with elders of various tribes in their respective subdivisions on Monday on the directives of Deputy Commissioner Mehmud Aslam Wazir.

The workers of various political parties and traders also participated in these jirgas.

The participants of the jirgas extended their full support to the administration to implement smart lockdown and pledged to abide by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised by the government to minimise the effects of coronavirus.

According to official figures, 427 people in Khyber have so far tested positive while five have died of Covid-19.

Officials said that there were more such people, who had not reported their cases to the administration, and the number of the affected persons could be higher than the official figures.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2020