ISLAMABAD: Five people lost their lives to Covid-19 in the capital and Rawalpindi district while 297 more contracted the virus on Wednesday.

Officials of the capital administration said deaths of a male and a female patient – both in the age group of 60-69 –were reported. They were residents of I-10 and Khanna.

Death toll from Covid-19 in Islamabad has reached 735, with the positivity rate recorded at 6.4pc, the officials added.

During the last 24 hours, 2,814 tests were conducted in the capital, out of which 101 males and 80 females tested positive, they said, adding that 40 cases were reported in the age group of 30-39, followed by 27 in 40-49, 26 in 20-29, 25 in 0-9, 21 in 50-59, 18 in 60-69, 15 in 10-19, five in 70-79 and two in 80 and above. Age groups of two patients are not known.

Likewise, 15 cases were reported from Tarlai, followed by 11 from Lohi Bher, 10 from G-13, nine from Bhara Kahu, eight from I-10, seven from E-11, six from Sohan, five each from G-6, G-11, Khanna and F-10, four each from Chak Shahzad and D-17, three each from G-9, G-7, F-11, Alipur, F-8, I-9, G-5, Rawal Town and Model Town, two each from G-10, I-8, Chirrah, Koral, Sihala, D-12 and Tarnol, one each from F-6, G-8, Kurri, F-7, Kirpa, G-15, G-14, H-12, Phulgran and F-12, the officials said, adding that addresses of 36 patients are not known.

Rawalpindi

Three people breathed their last in Rawalpindi district on Wednesday and 116 people were diagnosed with the disease.

As many as 107 people were discharged from hospitals after recovering from Covid-19 during the last 24 hours. Positivity rate in the district stood at 6.9pc.

The deceased were identified as Nasira Parveen, 55, resident of Peshawar Road, who was brought to Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre on May 18, Shahida Jan, 68, resident of Satellite Town, who was admitted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on May 18 and Naseem Akhtar, 55, resident of Dhamial, who was also brought to the Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre on May 18.

As the number of patients increased in the district, especially in the garrison city, Punjab Covid-19 Control Room has asked the district administration to impose smart lockdown in areas where most patients are being detected including Street 3 Muslim Town, Sadiqabad where five patients surfaced in a day among 763 residents; street 10 and 11 in Jhanda Chichi where five patients were reported among 323 residents; street 3, sector 2 of Airport Housing Society where four patients were reported among 451 residents and street 36 of Abu Bakar Block Phase-8 of Bahria Town where five Covid-19 patients surfaced among 189 residents.

The total number of suspected patients in Rawalpindi district is 1,676. As many as 327 people were declared safe from the virus and results of the remaining are awaited. There are currently 882 active patients in the district. As many as 96 patients are in hospitals including 35 who arrived from other districts and 786 patients are home isolated. As many as 688 patients are waiting for the results of their Covid-19 serology.

Out of the newly detected patients 31 are from Cantonment, 19 are from Potohar Town and 40 from Rawal Town areas. Seven patients arrived from Taxila, three patients each from Gujar Khan and Kahuta, two from Kotli Sattian and four from Murree. Two patients were brought from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one patient each arrived from Islamabad, Chakwal, Gujranwala, Jhelum, AJK and Sheikhupura.

As many as 12 patients are admitted in Holy Family Hospital, 15 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 45 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), 22 patients in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH), one in Hearts International Hospital and one in Begum Akhter Rukhsana Hospital.

There are five patients on ventilators in Rawalpindi, 69 on oxygen support and 22 are stable.

Attock

One Covid-19 patient died in Attock district on Wednesday.

According to health authorities, Manzoor Hussain, who was admitted to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, succumbed to the virus. So far, 126 people have lost their lives and all have been buried as per the Covid-19 protocol.

Moreover, the tally of Covid-19 patients reported in the district since the beginning of the pandemic surged to 2,111. District Focal Person for Covid-19 Dr Kashif Hussain said the number of active patients in the district was 104 out of which 98 were home isolated while six others were hospitalised.

Giving details, he said there were 89 patients in Attock city, five each in Hassanabdal and Hazro, three in Pindigheb and one each in Jand and Fatehjang. Three suspected patients are also admitted in hospitals out of which one is in critical condition.

The number of suspected patients in the district rose to 33,685 while screening of 36,937 people was done, out of which 31,452 were tested negative. Responding to a question, he said results of 122 suspected patients are awaited and so far 1,967 people have recovered from the virus in the district.— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2021