ISLAMABAD: There was no let-up in the number of Covid-19 cases as 650 more people contracted the virus in the federal capital on Sunday.

The positivity rate in Islamabad was calculated at 11.8pc.

According to officials of the capital administration, the weekly positivity is hovering around 10pc for the last few weeks, with no hope of a decrease in the number of cases in the near future.

Moreover, challenges are likely to increase further for the health department as educational institutions are set to reopen on Monday (today).

According to data released by the District Health Department, 5,507 tests were conducted on Saturday of which 650 were found positive.

“It’s still in danger zone with a high percentage of positivity. We urge everyone to practice SOPs and get your elders vaccinated,” District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia tweeted.

650 more people infected as weekly positivity rate in capital hovers around 10pc

Earlier, he had tweeted: “If you have elders above 65 and if you haven’t taken them for vaccination then REMEMBER to love them enough to GET them VACCINATED.”

Talking to Dawn, Dr Zia said every time the cases increased, the health department managed to break the chain of the virus.

“We are again trying to do so but the challenges are continuously increasing as rush increases in markets with every passing day of Ramazan. People have not stopped doing shopping and violating SOPs. Moreover, weekly positivity is also hovering around 10pc,” he said.

Meanwhile, children continue to be infected with the virus as 47 more tested positive in the last 24 hours. So far, 7,329 children up to 19 years of age have contracted the virus in the capital.

Rawalpindi

As many as 125 people tested positive and one patient died of Covid-19 in the district. However, no patient was discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours.

Mohammad Yousaf, 55, was brought to the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) from Gujar Khan on April 17 where he died on Sunday morning.

Officials said of the new patients, 98 were from the garrison city - 28 from cantonment, 27 from Potohar Town and 43 from Rawal Town.

As many as 11 patients came from Gujar Khan, four from Taxila, one each from Murree and Kotli Sattian, two each from Islamabad, Kallar Syedan, Chakwal, Kahuta and three from Attock.

There are 3,038 active patients in the district and 826 of them are in hospitals and 2,212 in home isolation. Besides, 640 patients are waiting for the results of their Covid-19 serology.

Of the new patients, 27 were admitted to Holy Family Hospital, 27 were in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), three in the District Headquarters Hospital, 117 in RIU, 22 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH), one in Begum Akhter Rukhsana Hospital and three in Hearts International Hospital.

There were 27 patients on ventilators, 121 on oxygen and 52 are stable.

Attock

At least 22 more people tested positive and one patient died of Covid-19 in the district of Attock during the last 24 hours.

According to health officials, Ashiq Farooq, 31, a resident of Attock city, was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital where he died.

District focal person for Covid-19 Kashif Hussain said the tally of cases crossed the 1,800 mark. He said 13 of the new patients belonged to Attock, three each to Hazro and Pindigheb while one each to Fatehjang, Hassanabdal and Jand.

He said the number of active patients in the district stood at 342 out of which 336 were home isolated. There are 13 suspected patients admitted to the DHQ hospital and 11 of them are in stable condition.

Responding to a question, he said the results of 1,087 suspected patients were awaited. So far, 1,426 patients have recovered from the disease.

Moreover, the education authorities sealed Government Boys High School Fatehjang city for seven days after one of its teachers tested positive.

Taxila

Officials said 18 people tested positive in Taxila city on Sunday. According to the data released by the local health authorities, the number of active patients rose to 173 out of which four are hospitalised and 169 home isolated. The officials said so far 1,224 patients have recovered. — Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2021