ISLAMABAD: There was no let-up in Covid-19 casualties as nine more people died from the infection in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

However, both the cities saw a decline in the number of cases with the capital reporting 327 cases and the garrison city 95.

Officials of the capital administration said five patients-- three men and two women in the age groups of 40-49, 70-79, 80-89, 50-59 and 60-69 died from the virus.

Those who died were the residents of G-11, G-9, Sohan, Chak Shahzad and I-12, they added.

During the last 24 hours 3,812 tests were conducted in the capital which confirmed the virus in 327 people, they said, adding that the positivity rate was 8.57pc.

On Wednesday the capital has 12,635 active cases of Covid19, they said, adding that the death toll of Covid19 rose to 675.

Pindi, Islamabad see decline in new Covid-19 cases

Rawalpindi

Four people died of Covid-19 in Rawalpindi district on Wednesday, 95 patients tested positive for the infection and 120 patients discharged from the hospital.

Naseer Agha, 76, a resident of Lane 4 Peshawar Road, brought to Hearts International Hospital on April 27 where he died on Wednesday.

Noor Hussain, 76, a resident of Chaklala Scheme-III near Bilal Mosque, also succumbed to the virus at Hearts International Hospital on Wednesday.

Syed Amir Hussain Shah, 76, a resident of Jatli Gujar Khan, breathed his last at Kalsoom International Hospital on Wednesday.

Sikander Ali, 61, a resident of Airport Housing Scheme, brought to Kalsoom International Hospital on April 24 where he died on Wednesday.

There are 1,694 active patients in Rawalpindi district,. As many as 185 patients are in the hospitals including 72 patients arrived from other districts and 1,509 patients are home isolated. As many as 707 patients are waiting for their results for Covid-19 serology.

According to the district health department, 95 patients were reported from the Rawalpindi district.

The garrison city saw 75 patients including 21 from Cantonment, 34 from Potohar Town and 20 from Rawal Town areas.

From the other parts of the district, six patients came from Gujar Khan, three from Taxila, one from Kotli Sattian, three from Kahuta while one patient from Murree. Five patients arrived from Islamabad and one from Attock.

The new Covid-19 patients arrived in the city hospitals including 29 to Holy Family Hospital, 26 to Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 104 to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), 25 to Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH) and one to Begum Akhter Rukhsana Hospital.

There are 24 patients on ventilators in Rawalpindi, 110 are on Oxygen and 51 are stable.

After increasing the number of patients, health department has recommended to impose smart lockdown in Bahria Town and Gulistan Colony.

Meanwhile, 13 people were arrested in Rawat for violating SOP.

Raids were conducted by assistant commissioner (Saddar), along with police, in commercial areas of Rawat to monitor implementation of SOPs.

Fines amounting to Rs153,000 were also imposed on violators. The team visited snooker clubs, fitness centres, hotels and shops, and took immediate action against those caught violating lockdown times and SOPs.

Besides, 14 shops and hotels were sealed while 107 people were taken into custody for violating SOP. The AC (City Rawalpindi), after reviewing implementation of SOPs and lockdown hours at Murree Road, Kartalpura and Raja Bazaar, sealed off nine shops and arrested four shopkeepers for not adhering to lockdown hours.

AC (Murree) sealed five hotels for violating the law and detained 103 people.

Attock

The third wave of Covid-19 kept haunting people in the district Attock as another patient lost battle against the virus on Wednesday.

Health officials said 65-year-old Rab Nawaz, a resident of Attock, succumbed to the virus at district headquarters hospital.

Health officials in April, 20 people succumbed to the virus in the district.

Taxila

In Taxila, army contingents and local administration launched a crackdown on the violators of the SOPs set by the government and arrested around 60 persons.

They were arrested during raids on various snooker clubs and gyms that were operating after 6pm.

Two snooker clubs and one gym were sealed in the limits of Wah Saddar Police station.

In Taxila a number of hotels were sealed and fine was imposed on them for violating the SOP. — Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2021