8 more deaths, 517 new cases in a day from twin cities

Rawalpindi : As many as eight confirmed patients of coronavirus illness, COVID-19 have died of the disease in last 24 hours in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi while another 517 patients have been tested positive for the illness after which the total number of patients confirmed positive from the region has crossed the figure of 10,000.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that Islamabad Capital Territory has emerged as one of the worst-hit area in the country at least in last two weeks as per its population compared with other districts of the country. Two weeks back, on May 30, the number of confirmed patients reported from ICT was 2192 of which 23 died of the disease however after 14 days, on Saturday, the number of confirmed patients rose to 7,163 and number of deaths became 71.

In last one week, from May 6 to Saturday, nearly 3,000 new patients have been tested positive from ICT while 26 patients lost their lives. The rate of infection and deaths is much higher in ICT if compared with other districts of the country including Rawalpindi district from where a total of 472 patients were tested positive in last one week while the virus claimed 12 more lives in a week.

In last two weeks, less than 750 patients have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 from Rawalpindi district while from ICT, nearly 5,000 more patients were tested positive and 48 deaths were reported after May 30. In Rawalpindi district, as many as 29 patients lost their lives in last two weeks.

The trend remained intact on Saturday as in last 24 hours, as many as six patients died of the disease from ICT while two from Rawalpindi district. Another 464 patients were tested positive from ICT taking tally to 7163 while 53 new cases were reported from Rawalpindi taking total number of patients so far reported from the district to 2,974.

The two patients died in the district were males having over 60 years of age. They were residents of Rawal Town and Cantonment Board area and had been undergoing treatment at Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Corona Management Centre at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology.

In Rawalpindi district, out of a total 2974 confirmed patients, as many as 1697 have achieved complete cure while 120 have lost their lives, said Executive District Officer (Health) Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary while talking to ‘The News’ on Saturday.

He added that 370 confirmed patients of the disease have been undergoing treatment at the healthcare facilities in town while 786 confirmed patients have been in isolation at their homes in the district. Another 2865 persons are under quarantine at their homes in the district, he said.

Of a total of 7163 confirmed COVID-19 patients from ICT, 1671 have so far recovered while 71 have lost their lives. On Saturday, there were 5421 active cases of coronavirus illness in the ICT according to the official figure released by the National Command and Control Centre. It is important that on Saturday, there were 5064 active cases of COVID-19 in Balochistan province.