ISLAMABAD: A total of nine patients succumbed to coronavirus in the capital and Rawalpindi districts while a boys college in Islamabad was sealed after three people tested positive on Saturday.

As many as 419 people got infected in the federal capital, however, a decline was witnessed in the positivity rate as it dropped to 6.5pc from 6.7pc and 9.9pc recorded on Friday and Thursday.

Officials of the capital administration said six died of Covid-19 on Saturday, with two deaths each reported in the age groups of 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79. All deceased were male patients and resided in Lohi Bher, Tarlai, G-7, F-10, I-10 and Sohan.

On the other hand, the district health authority issued a statement in which it announced the sealing of Islamabad College for Boys, G-6/3.

“It is hereby advised to immediately close down the college premises for a period till further intimation by the office of the undersigned and conduct thorough disinfection activities as per the guidelines issued by Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination attached herewith,” the statement said.

All students exposed to infected persons to be tested; positivity ratio falls in capital

The capital administration has been asked to conduct tests of all students who had been exposed to the infected persons.

District Health Officer (Islamabad) Dr Zaeem Zia said the weekly positivity rate had dropped to 7.5pc from over 10pc two weeks ago. The positivity ratio during the previous week was recorded at 9.3pc, he added.

Besides, there was also a decline in the number of cases on a single day in the capital, he said, adding that on Aug 19, 482 cases were reported, followed by 295 on Aug 20 and 218 on Aug 21.

According to capital administration officials, during the last 24 hours 3,326 tests were conducted, out of which 119 men and 99 women tested positive, adding that 49 cases were reported in the age group of 20-29, followed by 42 in 30-39, 26 in 40-49, 25 in 50-59, 22 in 10-19, 21 in 0-9, 20 in 60-69, 10 in 70-79 and three in 80 and above.

They said there were 5,155 active cases in the capital, out of whom 392 patients were in hospitals. The occupancy rate of beds allocated for virus patients stood at 53.04pc.

There was slight decrease in the occupancy rate of ventilators in the capital, which was recorded at 42.7pc on Saturday, the officials said.

Furthermore, 156 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering during the last 24 hours.

In Rawalpindi district, three people succumbed to coronavirus while 201 tested positive on Saturday.

As many as 156 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the deadly virus.

The deceased were identified as Mohammad Ashraf Malik, 80, a resident of Arid Agriculture University; Ghulab Jan, 65, a resident of Adiala Road and Malik M. Khan, 79, from Dhamial Camp.

According to data, there are 1,951 active patients in the district, with 210 in hospitals and 1,741 patients home isolated.

As many as 21 patients arrived from cantonment areas, 28 from city areas and 40 patients came from Potohar Town. A total of 32 patients arrived from Taxila, 24 from Kallar Syedan, 15 from Kotli Sattian, four from Gujar Khan, 11 from Murree and three from Kahuta. Eight patients came from Islamabad, four from Chakwal, three patients arrived from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, two patients arrived from Attock and one patient each came from Abbottabad, Gujrat, Jhelum, Khushab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sialkot.

As many as 210 patients are currently admitted to the city’s hospitals, including 48 in Holy Family Hospital, 32 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 78 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), three patients in District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, 42 in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH), four in Bilal Hospital, two in Hearts International Hospital and one in Begum Akhtar Sultana Trust Hospital.

There are eight patients on ventilators in Rawalpindi, 126 are on oxygen support and 76 are stable.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2021