COVID-19 hitting population hard

Rawalpindi : The coronavirus illness, COVID-19 outbreak that is hitting population hard in this region of the country claimed another five lives here in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the last 24 hours while another 353 patients have been tested positive from the region that is a new record for the highest number of cases in a day.

The outbreak is getting more and more intense with every passing day and its severity can be gauged from the fact that the first thousand confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in over two months after the first case of the disease in the region while in last five days only, as many as 1145 patients have been tested positive for the disease from the twin cities.

It is worth mentioning here that the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported on February 26 in the federal capital while on March 20 in Rawalpindi district though the virus took nearly two months to infect the first thousand people in the twin cities. Till May 4, 1048, confirmed patients were reported from the region but the number crossed 2000 in next 10 days, till May 14 and crossed the figure of 3000 in another eight days only, till May 22.

The number of confirmed patients from the twin cities rose to 4139 in the next six days only and it is much alarming that the virus took hardly five days to infect another 1000 persons in the twin cities as on Tuesday, the number of confirmed patients of COVID-19 from the twin cities has jumped to 5284.

The number 5284 includes locals from Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi district and the patients from any other district of the country undergoing treatment in the region have not been added to the twin cities’ dashboard.

The virus has claimed 129 lives in the region so far including 99 from the district and 30 from the ICT but still, the lockdown has been relaxed further in one way or the other and one can witness huge crowds in local markets and heavy traffic on almost all major roads in this region of the country.

From Balochistan province, the total number of confirmed patients so far reported is 4514 while from the twin cities, some 4236 patients have been tested positive in just 29 days, from May 4 to June 2. The virus claimed another three lives in the Rawalpindi district at Benazir Bhutto Hospital in the last 24 hours while two more confirmed patients of COVID-19 died in ICT. Another 304 patients were tested positive from ICT in the last 24 hours that is a new record of the highest number of cases in a day from the federal capital.

Another 49 patients have been tested positive from the district in last 24 hours taking the tally to 2391 of which 1062 have been discharged after treatment while 454 have been undergoing treatment at the healthcare facilities in town said Executive District Officer (Health) Rawalpindi Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary while talking to ‘The News’ on Tuesday.

It is important that the hospitals in the region are reaching their saturation points and soon there would be no space in the hospitals to cater to the needs of COVID-19 patients. As many as 775 confirmed patients have been in isolation at their homes in the district while 2497 under quarantine at their homes.

Meanwhile, confirmation of another 304 patients positive from ICT in the last 24 hours has taken the total number of confirmed patients of the disease from the federal capital to 2893 of which only 169 patients have so far recovered from the disease while the infection has claimed 30 lives in ICT.