Record increase in number of confirmed patients in one day in twin cities

Rawalpindi:A record increase in number of patients tested positive for coronavirus illness, COVID-19 in one day was registered here in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday as in last 24 hours, as many as 28 more patients have been confirmed positive for the disease taking total number of confirmed patients to 178 in the region.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Monday reveals that in last 24 hours, as many as 24 new patients have been tested positive for COVID-19 from the district taking total number of confirmed patients so far reported from Rawalpindi to 93. The first patient in the district was tested positive for COVID-19 here at Benazir Bhutto Hospital on March 20 and since then, not more than 10 confirmed patients have ever reported in a day in Rawalpindi.

Confirmation of 24 new patients for COVID-19 in one day is the highest increase but according to district health department, it is due to the untiring efforts of its staff working on contact tracing for days.

As many as 20 of the 24 patients tested positive for coronavirus illness are secondary contacts of two confirmed patients reported from Tehsil Gujar Khan few days back, said Executive District Officer (Health) Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary while talking to ‘The News’ on Monday.

He said few of the new patients confirmed positive in last 24 hours were contacts of 80-year old confirmed patient of the disease who received dead by BBH last week. It is important that 87 years old patient who returned from Europe recently was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Rawalpindi and was shifted to BBH after getting critical. He was received dead by the hospital on March 31.

The district health department’s team collected the sample of the old man and sent it for confirmation to National Institute of Health that turned out to be positive and it enabled the health department to collect samples of all contacts of the patient, said the EDO.

Another few patients tested positive in last 24 hours are secondary contacts of a confirmed female patient reported from the district, he said.

Meanwhile, in last 24 hours, another four patients were tested positive for COVID-19 in Islamabad Capital Territory that has taken the total number of patients so far confirmed positive in ICT to 82. Three of the total patients so far reported in the federal capital had recovered completely while 79 were being considered as active cases on Monday. The coronavirus illness has claimed no life in Islamabad so far according to the national Command and Control Centre.