PESHAWAR: Peshawar on Friday recorded the highest coronavirus positivity rate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 10 per cent of the samples collected testing positive for Covid-19, said the World Health Organisation in a report.

According to the health department, two more deaths by the virus and 251 new cases were reported in the province during the last 24 hours.

It said the active Covid-19 cases in the province increased from 1,643 on Thursday to 1,724 on Friday.

The department said a total of 944 samples underwent testing in the provincial capital and 9.9 per cent of them turned out to be positive for the virus.

The officials fear that the city could witness a repeat of the highest number of Covid-19 deaths and cases in the province.

A total of 1,305 people have died of the virus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the start of the pandemic in March. They include 614 residents of Peshawar, whose case fatality rate is four per cent.

The capital city also accounted for 15,535 of the province’s 41,323 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

The WHO, which named 15 major cities of the country for high swab positivity rate, also included Abbottabad, where the ratio is 6.1 per cent.

A total of 362 people underwent testing in the day and 30 of them were diagnosed with the infection.

After Peshawar and Swat, Abbottabad has recorded the third highest number of Covid-19-related deaths in the province during the first virus wave with 92 mortalities showing 4.6 per cent CFR. Its 2,000 residents have tested positive for coronavirus.

The WHO has also placed Swat among the cities with high Covid-19 cases. After 174 tests in a single day, the district’s virus positivity rate came to 0.6 per cent.

Swat has been the second city worst hit by Covid-19 in the first wave with 103 deaths and 3,217 cases. It has recorded 3.2 per cent CFR.

The province’s overall CFR is 3.14 per cent compared to the countrywide two per cent.

Officials at the health department say these cities could again emerge as hotspots during the second virus wave, which will be more intense than the first one.

They told Dawn that the health department had yet to enhance testing of the suspected population as the total samples processed daily was 4,000 though the WHO has recommended at least 7,000 tests every day.

The officials said the situation in educational institutions regarding coronavirus incidence was worrisome as the virus positivity rate was on the rise.

A health department report said the new cases detected among staff members and students of schools totalled 251 taking the tally to 1,524 with the positivity ratio of 1.72 per cent up from 1.65 per cent on Thursday.

The officials said educational institutions from hotspot districts were reporting more and more cases.

They said schools in Mansehra and Chitral were also reporting higher number of cases, while Bajaur, Buner, Karak, North Waziristan, Kolai-Palas and Torghar district weren’t doing testing in schools.

The officials also said Mardan, Nowshera, Abbottabad, Lower and Upper Kohistan, Upper and Lower Dir and Orakzai districts hadn’t enhanced the number of Covid-19 tests despite warnings.

They, however, said Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, Khyber, Tank, Malakand, Haripur, Lower and Upper Chitral, Swabi, Shangla, Charsadda, Kurram, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Hangu, Battagram, Kohat and Swat were carrying out more tests than targets.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2020