Three more deaths in Punjab pushes toll to 9

LAHORE: Three more Covid-19 patients fell prey to the dreaded virus on Monday, pushing the death toll to nine in Punjab, while the confirmed patients tally reached 638 in the province.

According to hospital sources, Kausar Parveen (55), and Abdul Aziz (70) died in Rawalpindi, while Muhammad Akbar (42) breathed his last at Mayo Hospital in Lahore. Kausar Parveen had recently returned from Saudi Arabia, and was hospitalised after being confirmed as a Covid-19 patient on March 27.

Abdul Aziz was hospitalised on March 28 after testing positive for the deadly virus. He had recently returned from England. Muhammad Akbar, a resident of Okara, was brought to Mayo Hospital in critical condition where he breathed his last.

Mayo Hospital Chief Executive Officer Prof Asad Aslam Khan said the Covid-19 patient had multiple complications including neurological and psychological disorders. Meanwhile, 45 new Covid-19 patients were confirmed from across the province on Monday, taking the number of confirmed cases to 638. Nine patients, who have died due to dreaded coronavirus in Punjab so far, included four in Lahore, three in Rawalpindi and one each in Faisalabad and Rahim Yar Khan. Five patients have also recovered from the Covid-19.

As per corona monitoring room at Primary and Secondary Healthcare (P&SH) Department, a total of 291 corona patients, pilgrims from Iran, are under treatment at quarantine facilities including 207 in Dera Ghazi Khan, 80 in Multan and four in Faisalabad. As many as 126 patients are under treatment in Lahore, 62 in Gujrat, 40 in Rawalpindi, 28 in Jhelum, 27 in Raiwind, 13 in Nankana Sahib, 11 in Gujranwala, nine in Faisalabad, five each in DG Khan and Hafizabad, four in Mandi Bahauddin, three in Mianwali, two each in Multan, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan and Sargodha and one each in Narowal, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Kasur and Khushab.

As per P&SH spokesperson, all patients are kept in isolation wards, while serious patients were immediately being shifted to high dependency units (HDUs). He urged people to stay at home, frequently wash hands and use hand sanitizer.

Meanwhile, an infant was diagnosed positive for Covid-19 in Kasur at Ward No 6 in the limits of Allahabad police station, on Monday.

One-year-old Abdul Saboor, a special child, is the son of army man Muhammad Iqbal, who was also diagnosed positive some days back in Gujranwala.

Saboor is the first reported case in Kasur. The case has been confirmed by Chunian assistant commissioner, who along with health officials including Deputy District Health Officer (DDHO) Dr Iqbal, shifted the child to Lahore.

The other family members of the victim were declared negative. However, 124 suspects were shifted to quarantine at DPS Kasur, most of them had come back from Raiwind religious gathering.

In Nankana Sahib, eight more family members of an already coronavirus affected couple were found positive here on Monday.

A resident of Kamaranwala Mandi Faizabad, Abdur Rasheed, and his wife, Kishwar Bibi, had visited Saudi Arabia for performing Umrah recently. They were admitted to an isolation ward of DHQ Hospital Nankana when they came back. They were found coronavirus positive patients afterwards.

Later, the tests of their other family members were conducted and their eight more family members including Waqas, Hameedan Bibi and Hifza were also found coronavirus positive on Monday.

They have been restrained to their residence as it has been declared quarantine for them. Apart from it, two members of Tableeghi Jamaat of Mandi Faizabad were shifted to an isolation ward of DHQ Hospital Nankana on Monday after they were found Covid-19 positive.

Zubair is a resident of Multan while Ijaz is a resident of Mansehra. So far, the number of coronavirus in the district had reached twelve. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the district administration Nankana, Muhammad Tasawar Chaudhry, said the area of Kamranwala Mandi Faizabad had been sealed completely while tests were being conducted of the residents of 51 houses of the area. He said chlorine spray was being conducted in Mandi Faizabad.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Nankana Raja Mansoor Ahmad and DPO Ismailur Rehman Kharak visited the area on Monday to monitor the situation.