ISLAMABAD: The capital administration issued more restrictions on different activities from May 8 to 16 in compliance with the decisions of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to prevent further spread of Covid-19.

A notification issued from the office of the deputy commissioner said except essential services all markets, Marakiz, malls, commercial activities, businesses and shops will remain closed. Essential

services include medical services, pharmacies, medical stores, and vaccination centres, grocery stores, vegetable, fruit, chicken and meat shops, bakeries, petrol pumps, food takeaways an e-commerce (home delivery), utility services (Iesco, SNGPL, sanitation, environment, water directorates of CDA and MCI), internet, cellular network, telecom, call centres and media.

On Chand Raat, all bazaars will be closed, including mehndi, jewellery, ornaments and clothing stalls.

Bazaars, stalls will not operate on Chand Raat, says notification

Tourist spots, picnic points, tourist resorts and hostels, restaurants in and around tourist spots will be closed.

These tourist spots and parks include Lake View Park, Faisal Mosque, Pakistan Monument, Murree Point, Pir Sohawa, shrines, F-9 Park, Jasmine Garden, Damn-i-Koh, Rawal Dam, Shahdara hill stations, trails (for picnic purposes), Shakarparian and Lok Virsa Centre.

All kind of inter-provincial, inter-city and intra-city public transport will be banned to and from Islamabad. The ban will not be applicable on private vehicles, taxis/cabs, rickshaws with 50 per cent occupancy and medical and other emergency services transport.

Meanwhile, 317 more cases were reported in the capital on Monday. In the last 24 hours, 3,815 tests were conducted and the positivity rate remained 8.3 percent. The capital has 12,037 actives cases.

Rawalpindi

As many as nine patients died of Covid-19 in Rawalpindi district on Monday and 75 more people tested positive. Moreover, 773 patients were discharged from hospitals.

Mohammad Ali, 72, resident of Saidpur Road, was brought to Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) on April 17 where he died.

Riffat Bibi, 39, resident of Jhanda Chichi, died at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) where she was admitted on May 2.

Mohammad Shabir, 45, resident of Sanam Chowk, was brought to Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre on May 2 where he died.

Mazhar Hussain, 60, resident of Peshawar Road, was admitted to Polyclinic on May 2 where he died.

Mohammad Waheed, 70, of Murree, also died at Pims where he was admitted on May 2.

Mohammad Ahmed, 30, resident of city areas, passed away at Holy Family Hospital where he was admitted on May 2.

Mohammad Rukhsar, 72, was brought to Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre from Malot Kashmiri Bazaar on May 2 where he succumbed to the virus.

Qazi Islamul Haq, 58, resident of Kallar Syedan, also died at Pims a day after being admitted there.

Mehfooz Begum, 67, resident of Ashraf Colony Dhamial, was brought to Quaid-i-Azam International Hospital on May 2 where she died.

In Rawalpindi, there are 1469 active patients and 160 of them are in hospitals and 1309 are home isolated. As many as 708 patients are waiting for the results of their Covid-19 serology.

Of the new cases, 23 were reported from the Cantonment, 21 from Potohar Town and 21 from Rawal Town.

Moreover, two patients came from Gujar Khan, three from Kotli Sattian, one from Kallar Syedan, two from Murree, one patient each from Chakwal and Attock.

Officials said 26 of the new patients were admitted in Holy Family Hospital, 25 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 83 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), 20 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH), five in Hearts International Hospital and one in Begum Akhter Rukhsana Hospital.

There are eight patients on ventilators and 106 on oxygen.

Attock

A team of local administration led by deputy commissioner Ali Annan Qammar raided bazaars and fined violators of coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs). As many as 18 shops were sealed for not following the SOPs.

District focal person for Covid-19 Kashif Hussain said 18 more people tested positive in the district raising the number to 2006. He said Aqeel Shah, 37, a resident of Mirza village, succumbed to the virus.

He said the number of active patients in the district was 181 and 178 of them were home isolated and three hospitalised.

He said so far 1,787 patients have recovered from the virus in the district.— Additional reporting by Amjad Iqbal

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2021