Rawalpindi:The number of patients being tested positive for coronavirus illness, COVID-19 from Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi district is registering a continuous upward trend for over a week as in last 24 hours, as many as 53 new patients have been confirmed positive for the disease though the virus has claimed no life in the region in last three days.
In the beginning of August, it was being assumed that the coronavirus illness, COVID-19 outbreak would fade away in next few days as from the second week of August to the first week of September, in four weeks, nearly 650 new patients were reported from the region however the situation got a little different from what was assumed.
In last 13 days only, another 554 confirmed cases of the disease have been reported from the region and it is happening at a time when higher level educational institutions including universities, colleges and schools for 9th and 10th classes have resumed operations and almost all schools are going to reopen middle classes, from 6th to 8th levels from Wednesday (tomorrow). In last 24 hours, as many as 53 new cases have been reported from ICT and Rawalpindi of which 15 patients are from the district and 38 from ICT.
It is important that on August 21, one month back, there were a total of 59 active cases of COVID-19 in Rawalpindi district including seven admitted and 52 in home isolation where as on Monday, the number was 152. The number of suspects in the district on August 21 was 197 that got to 401 on Monday. From ICT, another 38 patients have been tested positive for the disease in last 24 hours taking tally to 16162 of which 15557 have recovered. To date, the virus has claimed a total of 180 lives in ICT where the number of active cases of the disease was 425 on Monday. It is important that in last three weeks, as many as 537 new patients have been tested positive from the federal capital.
In last 24 hours, 15 new patients were reported from Rawalpindi district taking tally to 6225 of which 5789 have achieved cure. At present, eight patients have been undergoing treatment at the healthcare facility while number of confirmed patients in home isolation is 144, said Executive District Officer (Health) Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary while talking to ‘The News’ on Monday.
Health services
Obstacles in providing health services to the people will be eliminated in stages, said Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan while speaking at an event organized by Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) on Monday. He said that health of the people is one of the main priorities of the Prime Minister.
President PANAH Major General (r) Masood-ur-Rehman Kayani, General Secretary PANAH Sanaullah Ghman and acting vice presidents Major General (r) Muhammad Ashraf, Ijaz Akbar, Ghulam Abbas also spoke on the occasion.
Major General (r) Masood-ur-Rehman Kayani said that PANAH has been educating the people about the causes of heart disease for the last 36 years. He said smoking, sugary drinks and obesity are one of the main causes of diseases. He said that a health tax bill of Rs1 on a small bottle of sugary drinks and Rs10 per pack of cigarettes was approved by the Cabinet and Prime Minister Imran Khan. “To date, however, no positive developments have taken place,” he said.—Correspondent