Islamabad: Margallah Hills National Park closed as coronavirus cases rise

ISLAMABAD: Authorities announced the closure of the Margallah Hills National Park on Tuesday, as coronavirus cases across the capital city increase.

The announcement was made by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) chairperson Rina S Khan on Twitter.

"Margallah Hills National Park, which includes Trails 2,3,4,5 & 6, is now shut to the public due to the current spike in COVID-19 & the upcoming March 23rd parade," she wrote on Twitter.

Rina, however, clarified that the park will be reopened on March 24 for weekdays only.

"Trails will be closed on Saturday and Sunday," she tweeted.

The cases of the virus have risen sharply over the past couple of days, with the positivity ratio in Islamabad climbing to 7.7%, according to data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

National positivity rate shoots past 7%

The national positivity ratio of Pakistan shot past 7% on Tuesday after over 2,500 cases were reported in the last 24 hours.

Daily data issued by the NCOC showed that 35,303 tests were conducted in the country in the last 24 hours out of which 2,511 returned positive, taking the positivity ratio to 7.1%.

Meanwhile, the positivity ratio in the federal capital has reached 7.7%, the District Health Officer said. The DHO said that 414 cases returned positive.

The new positive cases takes the national total of coronavirus positive cases to 609,964. The NCOC said out that 11,089 have been reported in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 19,233 in Balochistan, 4,961 in Gilgit Baltistan, 48,495 in Islamabad, 76,379 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 188,225 in Punjab, and 261,582 in Sindh.

Total active coronavirus cases in Pakistan stand at 23,355.

On the other hand, the country also lost 58 people to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours with the most deaths occurring in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.