ISLAMABAD: While 50 per cent of vaccine eligible residents of the federal capital have been partially inoculated, the positivity rate dropped to 1pc as only 34 people were found infected on Sunday.

Health officials said over 15,000 people are being vaccinated daily and they are hopeful that the target of 70pc to 80pc vaccination would be achieved in July.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeem Zia told Dawn that 34 new cases were detected against 3,226 tests on Sunday.

“Moreover, the positivity rate in the city, which was around 11pc a few months ago, has dropped to 1pc. It is the lowest positivity during the third wave of the pandemic,” he said.

Replying to a question, Dr Zia said 500,000 vaccines were administered in the federal capital.

He expressed the hope that the target of 80pc vaccination would be achieved in July.

80pc target will be achieved in July, says DHO

He said as things were going in the right direction, he was focusing on the polio vaccination to cover maximum children.

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), who is not authorised to speak on record, said there was a huge pressure and demand for the Pfizer vaccine.

“We have formulated standard operating procedures under which only those who have to go abroad or those suffering from serious diseases such as cancer can be inoculated with Pfizer,” he said.

On the other hand, it is a good news that over 500,000 people have been partially or completely vaccinated. A large number of people have got Cansino, which is a single dose vaccine, so they don’t require the second dose.

Rawalpindi

One patient died, 24 people tested positive while 31 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery in the last 24 hours.

According to a report presented to the Punjab government on Sunday, 258,736 tested negative while 26,625 people were found infected and 987 people died of the virus in the Rawalpindi district since March 2020 to June 13, 2021.

The positivity rate in the district remained 6.91pc from March 2020 to June 13, 2021. However, on Sunday, 24 out of 928 suspected patients tested positive showing a positivity rate of 2.57pc.

Manzoorun Nisa, 67, a resident of Murree, was brought to Polyclinic Hospital on June 12 where she died on Sunday.

There are 302 active patients in the district. As many as 47 patients are in hospitals and 255 home isolated. Moreover, 801 patients are waiting for the results of their Covid-19 serology.

Officials said six of the new cases were reported from the cantonment, nine from Potohar Town, six from Rawal Town, one patient each from Taxila and Gujar Khan.

Of the new patients, 11 were admitted in Holy Family Hospital, eight in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 15 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), 16 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH) and one in Hearts International Hospital.

There are three patients on ventilators, 34 on oxygen and 14 are stable.

Attock

The positivity ratio has fallen to the lowest level in the district, said health authorities.

According to district focal person for Covid-19 Dr Kashif Hussain, the positivity rate has decreased to 2.66pc in the current month. He said 1,541 samples were collected and only 41 tested positive in June.

He said on June 1 the positivity rate was 7pc, on June 2 14pc, three per cent on June 3, 0.9pc on June 4, 1.4pc on June 5, zero per cent on June 6, three per cent on June 7, 4.5pc on June 8, three per cent on June 8, zero per cent on June 9, one per cent on June 10, 11 and 12 and zero per cent on June 13.

He said the number of positive cases in the district on Sunday was 2,225.

Responding to a question, he said the number of suspected patients in the district was 37,546 while screening of 40,798 people was carried out in which 33,898 tested negative.

Responding to a question, he said so far 2,106 people have recovered from the virus.

He said the number of active patients in the district was 77 in which 75 were under home isolation and only two hospitalised.

Chief Executive Officer District Health Authority Dr Jawad Elahi said it seemed the strict restrictions and increased compliance with the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the citizens had started showing results.

The cases started to decline in the beginning of the current month.

He said over the last two weeks the number of people going home from hospitals after recovering from disease had also increased.

The bed occupancy rate has significantly reduced in the district as only two patients are admitted to government hospitals while no suspected patient is under treatment, he added.

— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2021