• Health officer urges people to avoid visiting each other
• Five die in Pindi district
• Main hall of Faisal Mosque sealed

ISLAMABAD: Five people died in Rawalpindi district and 523 more got infected in the twin cities on Sunday as the capital administration appealed to the citizens to avoid visiting each other as it had become a major contributor to the spread of Covid-19.

In another development, the district administration sealed the main hall of Faisal Mosque after people were found violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs) during Friday prayers.

Islamabad reported 422 cases on Sunday with a positivity rate of 6.16pc.

District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia tweeted: “Sources that contribute to the spread. I think people should, for now avoid visiting each other since it’s the biggest contributor at the moment. Schools/educational institutions are closed that has helped us a lot.”

Talking to Dawn, Dr Zia said 6,852 samples were collected from across the city on Saturday out of which 422 were found positive.

“Our positivity ratio has maintained between 4.5pc to 6.5pc due to efforts made by the health department. However the major contributor for the spread of the virus is visiting each other. Therefore, we appeal to the masses to avoid it as it would increase the chances of remaining safe from the virus,” he said.

The health officer said earlier educational institutions were the main source of the spread which was why they were closed. Now, the second source has become interaction between people.

Dr Zia said the third major source of the spread was the frequent travel undertaken by residents of the federal capital out of the city who returned as carriers of the virus.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat on Sunday said the district administration had sealed the inner hall of Faisal Mosque for some time and arrangements were being made to protect people from the virus.

“People cannot say collective prayers in the hall as they had violated SOPs during Friday prayers. The hall will be opened after necessary measures have been taken. Till that time people will offer their prayers in the courtyard,” he said.

Rawalpindi

Five people died in Rawalpindi district and 101 tested positive for the deadly virus on Sunday as 246 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering.

Mohammad Ubaid, 57, a resident of Farooq-i-Azam Road, Shamsabad, was brought to Holy Family Hospital (HFH) on Dec 5 but died late Saturday night. Similarly, Munir Ahmed, 60, a resident of Wah’s Nawababad area, was also shifted to HFH on Dec 5 but he succumbed to the virus on Sunday. Said Mohammad, 79, from Satellite Town, died at Holy Family Hospital on Saturday night where he was shifted on Dec 5.

Shaukat Ali Mir, 72, from Bahria Town Phase-8 was brought to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology on Dec 5 where he breathed his last on Sunday. Suhail Ahmed, 49, a resident of Gulzar-i-Quaid, was admitted to Dr Akbar Niazi Hospital on Dec 5 but could not survive and died on Sunday.

As many as 101 new patients were reported on Sunday, including eight from outside the district.

A total of 246 confirmed patients recovered from the deadly virus, which was the highest number of people to have recovered from hospitals in the district since March.

A total of 1,201 patients were under treatment in the district out of which 164 patients were in hospitals and 1,037 patients home isolated.

Since March, 11,042 people have contracted the virus in Rawalpindi district while 9,403 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering. As many as 438 people have died so far.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn the Punjab government had made special arrangements to deal with the second wave. It had launched awareness campaigns and introduced better facilities for patients in hospitals and even for those isolated in their houses.

He said 10 teams had been formed to check the home-isolated patients and to conduct their tests after their two-week isolation period.

Attock

Attock witnessed another spike of Covid-19 patients as 11 people tested positive for coronavirus.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Dr Jawad Elahi said among the new cases, four belonged to Fatehjang, three to Attock, two to Hazro while one each was from Hassanabdal and Pindigheb.

Responding to a question, Dr Elahi said since March, 842 patients had been infected by the virus and 22 lost their lives.

He said the number of active patients in the district had surged to 115 out of which 109 were home isolated and six hospitalised.

He said seven suspected patients had been admitted to District Headquarters Hospital out of which six were critical and one was in stable condition. The health official said so far 693 positive patients had recovered in the district.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Hazro Shagufta Jabeen visited a private school and found all staff members present in violation of government orders to close educational institutions.

She sought explanation from the school management and said legal action would be taken accordingly. — Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2020