ISLAMABAD: Capital residents within the ages of 31 and 45 appear to be the most vulnerable to Covid-19, as they make up the majority of the working class and their movement cannot be curtailed.

A document from the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) available with Dawn shows that of the 1,728 cases reported in Islamabad so far, 570 of the people affected are between 31 and 45, while 376 patients are between the ages of 21 and 30.

There have been 331 patients between the ages of 46 and 60, while 168 were between the ages of 11 and 20 and 144 were between the ages of 61 and 80. Only 13 patients so far have been above 80 years of age, and 102 patients were children below the age of 10.

Overall, 67.5pc of the patients were male and 32.5pc were female.

Islamabad District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia told Dawn that could be a number of reasons why the highest number of patients were from the 31-45 age bracket.

“I believe the most social movement is among people who fall in that age bracket. The movement of students has been reduced because educational institutions have been closed. Although most students complete their education by the age of 25, it is observed that the majority remain unemployed until the age of 30,” he explained.

“They start working at the age of 30 and their interaction cannot be curtailed during jobs. In government offices, employees above 50 have been given the choice to stay home, so the majority of people working even in government offices are in the 31-45 age bracket,” Dr Zia, who heads the Covid-19 team in the capital, said.

The ministry document said that the population of Islamabad is 2.3 million. The first Covid-19 laboratory case in the city was confirmed on Feb 26, 2020. A Tracing, Testing and Quarantine (TTQ) Centre was established on April 7 and has been working 24/7 with 39 teams.

On May 26, 87 cases were detected; all of them were isolated at home and 76 of their contacts were quarantined at home.

There have been 17 deaths out of 1,728 Covid-19 cases, and 157 people have recovered and been notified by the district health officer, the document stated.

Special assistant visits Pims

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on NHS Dr Zafar Mirza visited the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Wednesday to inspect the hospital’s Covid-19 arrangements.

Dr Mirza was accompanied by NHS Secretary Amir Ashraf Khuwaja. He directed for patients to receive the best possible treatment.

It was informed during his visit that Pims has a polymerase chain reaction machine, which makes it possible to test and hand over bodies of patients quickly.

Typically, it takes nearly three days to receive a report after the death of a suspected Covid-19 patient. In such situations, the relatives of the deceased have protested because they want to receive the body quickly while the Pims administration has refused to hand it over because of Covid-19 burial standard operating procedures.

Dr Mirza said that healthcare providers were the frontline force against Covid-19 and assured that all possible facilities will be provided to them.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2020