RAWALPINDI: The district administration on Friday sealed markets in the garrison city over violations of standard operating procedures (SOP) issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The administration imposed Rs140,000 and sealed 18 markets and shops in the district, including four in Rawalpindi city, four in Gujar Khan, two in Taxila and eight in Kahuta.

The Punjab government, when allowing shops to reopen, had said that no shops would open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and businesses could only operate between Monday and Thursday and 8am and 5pm.

Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Anwarul Haq told Dawn that teams have been formed to check violations in the city and cantonment areas and markets were sealed where violations were found.

Haq said shops were opened in Bara Market, Raja Bazaar and adjoining areas.

BBH wards could be dedicated to Covid-19 treatment if cases continue to rise, commissioner says

He said Rs3,682,000 in fines have been imposed so far and 751 shops and markets sealed for lockdown violations in the district. In addition, 611 FIRs have been registered in this regard.

Meanwhile, all the department wards in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) could be turned into Covid-19 care centres if the coronavirus continues to spread in Rawalpindi, Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood said on Friday.

Mehmood told Dawn that with the number of patients rising, the provincial government has asked for beds to be arranged in hospitals.

“We are planning to convert all the department wards of BBH into coronavirus care centres if the number of patients increases,” he said.

District administrations have set up field hospitals in their respective areas, which would be enough to meet the requirement, he added. Private hospitals will also be utilised in the event of an emergency.

Mehmood said that 39 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi division, of which 38 are in Rawalpindi and one is in Chakwal.

Including Friday’s cases, the total number of Covid-19 patients in Rawalpindi has now reached 1,579. In addition, 24 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the disease.

A total of 63 people have died and 332 people have recovered from Covid-19 in Rawalpindi.

There are currently 575 patients being treated in hospitals and 609 isolated in their homes.

Overall, 70pc of Rawalpindi’s Covid-19 patients have been reported from the city and cantonment areas and 30pc are from the district’s rural areas.

In addition, 61pc of patients are male and 39pc are female.

An awareness campaign has begun in districts to keep people informed of the danger of the coronavirus, Mehmood said, adding that the region will see another spike in patients if people do not take precautions.

He said that health experts fear that the number of Covid-19 patients will increase because of the absence of precautions among the public.

The local administration and traders have been issued special instructions to contain the coronavirus.

Islamabad

Two more Covid-19 patients have died in the capital and 44 new cases have been reported. One of the deceased was an Islamabad resident and the other was from Taxila.

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Joint Executive Director Dr Minhajus Siraj told Dawn that a 65-year-old Covid-19 patient who was brought to the hospital on April 29 and had been placed on a ventilator died Friday evening.

He said that the patient’s death was reported to the capital administration according to standard operating procedures (SOP).

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat said that a resident of F-6 also died from the disease. He said the 38-year-patient had been admitted to a hospital, where he died.

A total of 46 people have died of Covid-19 in Islamabad, capital administration officials said, adding that 39 of them were residents of other districts and seven were residents of the capital.

All seven of the Islamabad residents died at Pims, they said, while the others were admitted to different hospitals including Pims, the Federal Government Services Hospital and two private hospitals.

Of the deceased, 16 were on ventilators.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 cases in Islamabad increased to 866 on Friday, administration officials said.

Six cases were reported from F-11, four from G-14, three each from G-6 and Lohi Bher, two each from Bhara Kahu, F-7, G-11, G-15, G-7, G-8, G-9, Kuri, Sohan and Tarlai and one each from Alipur, D-11, I-10, I-8, Kirpa, Rawat, and Shahzad Town. The address of one patient was not known.

There are 81 patients admitted to six government and private hospitals, of which 30 are from the capital and the rest are from elsewhere, the officials said.

They added that 10 patients are in serious condition and 13 others have been placed on ventilators.

There are 33 more patients at three quarantine facilities - the Pak China Friendship Centre, Hostel City and the OGDCL rest house in I-9.

The remaining patients are isolated in their homes, officials said.

There are also 632 passengers quarantined 10 centres in the capital.

Also on Friday, Assistant Commissioner Shalimar Sidra Anwar sealed four shops and a salon for violating SOPs and timing restrictions.

Administration officials said that social distancing guidelines and SOPs issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have been violated in all the markazes and commercial centres in Islamabad.

They said senior officers are considering reviewing the policy regarding SOP implementation in markazes and commercial centres, which will be enforced strictly starting next week.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2020