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Thursday March 28, 2024

Markets attracting huge crowds, SOPs ignored badly

By Muhammad Qasim
June 02, 2020

Rawalpindi:The number of patients being tested positive for coronavirus illness, COVID-19 and deaths caused by the disease is on a continuous rise in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi but still a significant proportion of population here seems unwilling to follow any precautionary measures, standard operating procedures (SOPs) or lockdown.

Easing lockdown again and again has given rise to misperceptions among general public and one can witness huge crowds in almost all major markets particularly in Rawalpindi district including Raja Bazaar, the main wholesale market in this region of the country.

A good number of individuals in almost all localities in the district are still terming the disease as fake while the disease is bringing endless miseries to thousands of confirmed patients and their families. In last 24 hours, the coronavirus illness claimed another eight lives in public sector hospitals in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi including three patients belonging to other districts of the country. Four patients belonging to Rawalpindi district died of the disease in last 24 hour while one from the federal capital.

Four patients including a 34-year old female from the main city area in Rawal Town died of the disease at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Corona Management Centre at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Holy Family Hospital. The other three patients were residents of Potohar Town, Gujar Khan and Cantonment Board area in Rawalpindi. Another three patients died of the disease at allied hospitals were residents of Mandi Bahauddin and Khushab though their deaths have not been added to Rawalpindi district’s dashboard.

Five deaths of local patients took death toll to 124 in the twin cities while confirmation of another 204 patients positive for COVID-19 has taken tally to 4931 on Monday. To date, a total of 2342 patients have been tested positive for the disease from the district including 33 added on Monday. So far, a total of 888 patients been discharged from healthcare facilities after treatment while 96 patients belonging to Rawalpindi district have so far died of COVID-19, said Executive District Officer (Health) Rawalpindi Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary while talking to ‘The News’ on Monday.

As many as 453 confirmed patients have been undergoing treatment at the healthcare facilities including CMC at RIU, BBH, Pakistan Red Crescent Society Rawalpindi, a field hospital at Shahbaz Sharif Sports Complex and HFH. The EDO said another 904 confirmed patients of COVID-19 have been in home isolation in the district while some 2264 persons have been under quarantine in their homes. To date, a total of 1117 persons have been relived from quarantine, he said.

Meanwhile, another 171 patients have been tested positive from the federal capital in last 24 hours taking total number of confirmed patients so far reported from ICT to 2589 of which only 169 have so far recovered while 28 died of the disease according to the figure released by National Command and Control Centre.