RAWALPINDI: One person was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Monday while 295 others are still waiting the results of their Covid-19 tests.

Seven people tested positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi district over the three days of Eidul Azha, and 28 confirmed patients were discharged from city hospitals after recovering. There were no deaths reported.

Two people tested positive on Saturday, the first day of Eid, while 28 patients recovered. Another four people tested positive on Sunday.

Including the new cases, Rawalpindi district has reported 6,535 confirmed cases, with 275 deaths and 5,993 recoveries.

A total of 295 suspected patients are awaiting test results from laboratories in four government-run hospitals - Benazir Bhutto Hospital Holy Family Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital and the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology.

There are currently 139 Covid-19 patients admitted to the four hospitals, and 128 patients isolated in their homes.

The Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas have reported 5,083 confirmed cases, followed by 301 from Taxila, 265 from Gujar Khan, 90 from Kahuta, 60 from Kotli Sattian, 52 from Murree and 47 from Kallar Syedan.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that the number of critical patients has decreased.

He said there are 359 confirmed patients in the division, of which 145 are in government-run hospitals and 214 are isolated in their homes.

Mr Mehmood said the provincial government made special arrangements for patients admitted to hospitals during Eid. He added that the government’s ‘smart lockdown’ policy was a success, since the number of new cases did not increase over the holidays.

He said that the number of patients rose during and after Eidul Fitr to up to 357 in one week, which was the highest number recorded in the past four months. Between July 25 and July 31, he said, 55 new patients were reported.

However, Mr Mehmood added that it was not correct that the coronavirus outbreak was over, adding that he feared that the number of patients would rise again if people do not take precautions and follow standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the provincial government.

Islamabad

Two more Covid-19 patients died in Islamabad and 62 new cases were reported during the Eidul Azha holidays.

Capital administration officials said that 19 new cases were reported on Aug 1 and Aug 2 each, followed by 24 on Aug 3, when two patients also died.

There were 1,456 tests carried out in the capital on Saturday, with 19 positives. Three cases each were reported from Lohibher and the Airport Security Force (ASF) Camp at the Islamabad International Airport, two each from F-11, G-13 and Chak Shahzad, and one each from G-8, Tarlai, Bhara Kahu, Khanna, Tarnol, F-5 and Shah Allah Ditta.

There were 1,781 tests carried out on Sunday, also with 19 positive. Four cases each were reported in Lohibher and Chak Shahzad, two in G-7 and one each in G-8, G-9, G-6, G-10, Bhara Kahu, Khanna, F-8 and Pind Begwal. The address of one confirmed patient is not known.

Two deaths of Covid-19 patients were reported on Monday, one from E-11 and one patient whose address is not known.

In addition, 1,271 tests were carried out of which 24 came back positive. There were 10 cases reported in Lohibher, six in G-6 and one each in G-8, I-8, Chak Shahzad, Rawat, I-9, Kuri and Jhangi Syedan.

Islamabad has now reported 15,076 confirmed cases of Covid-19, of which 167 patients have died and 12,678 have recovered.

There are 2,231 active cases in 68 out of the capital’s 86 areas. G-8 has 190 active cases, followed by 182 in Lohibher, 111 in G-9, 99 in I-8, 93 each in G-7 and G-6, 89 in G-10, 82 in Tarlai, 81 in Bhara Kahu, 63 in I-10, 59 in G-11, 57 in Khanna, 53 in F-11, 45 each in F-6 and Sohan, 42 each in F-7, F-8 and Rawat, 41 in Chak Shahzad, 39 in G-13, 36 in E-11, 34 in I-9, 28 in Alipur, 22 in F-10, 21 in G-15, 20 in Kural, 19 in G-5, 18 in E-9, 16 in Tarnol, 15 each in the ASF Camp and Kuri, 13 each in H-13 and Shah Allah Ditta, 12 each in F-5 and Model Town, 10 each in G-14 and H-8, eight each in Kirpa and Rawal Town, seven in H-11, six each in B-17 and Sihala, and five each in D-12, E-7, G-12, I-12, and Pind Begwal.

There are one to four active cases in another 21 areas.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2020