LAHORE: As many as 19 districts of Punjab for the first time reported not a single new coronavirus case during the last 24 hours. However, 173 new cases have been reported in the provincial capital during the same period.

Meanwhile, three districts reported two each cases, and four others three each new positive cases of the virus during the same period.

The official figures show that the downward trend in the Covid-19 cases has been continuing, particularly during the last one week or so.

An official told Dawn on Wednesday that it was for the first time since the outbreak hit the country that more than half districts of Punjab reported no case during 24 hours.

He said the medical and health experts breathed a sigh of relief on finding 19 districts free of new Covid cases.

The districts that reported no new virus cases included Attock, Bahawalnagar, Bhakar, Chakwal, Chiniot, Jhang, Jehlum, Kasur, Khanewal, Khoshab, Layya, Lodhran, Mianwali, Muzafar Gharh, Norowal, Nankana Sahib, Rajanpur, Sheikhupura and Mandi Bahauddin.

The data collected by the provincial health department revealed that Okara, Pakpatan, Rahim Yar Khan and Toba Tek Singh reported one case each, while DG Khan, Hafizabad and Vehari reported two cases each during the last 24 hours.

Similarly, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Gujrat and Sahiwal district reported three cases each during the same period.

It is also for the first time that 77 hospitals of Punjab have now not a single Covid patient, the official said, adding that of these 17 were the government-run, while 60 in the private sector.

Presently, there were only 416 Covid-19 patients under treatment at various hospitals of the province and of them 69 were in the ICUs because of their serious condition.

In Lahore, according to the official figures, there was not a single patient under treatment in 23 private sector health facilities designated for the Covid-19 treatment.

Meanwhile, eight more patients died of coronavirus across the province during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 2,133 in Punjab so far.

The total number of the confirmed virus cases reached 92,452 in Punjab after 173 new people tested positive for the virus during the last 24 hours.

According to the official figures released here on Wednesday, out of total new cases 86 were reported from Lahore, 34 from Rawalpindi, 10 from Multan and eight from Faisalabad.

The figures show as many as 1,247 more Covid patients were discharged from various hospitals of Punjab during the last 24 hours after they recovered completely.

The data reveals that 82,515 out of total 92,452 patients have been discharged from various hospitals of the province so far.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2020