Number of deaths on the rise once again

Rawalpindi : The disease caused by 2019 novel coronavirus, COVID-19 claimed at least 13 more lives here in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in last 48 hours proving itself still much fatal despite the fact that the number of confirmed patients being tested positive for the illness from the region is showing a significant downward trend.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Friday reveals that the illness claimed four more lives in the federal capital in the last 24 hours taking the death toll from Islamabad Capital Territory to 146 while in last two days, at least seven confirmed patients of the disease died in Rawalpindi district.

Apart from seven deaths in the last 48 hours, another eight pending death cases have been added to Rawalpindi district’s dashboard that took the total number of deaths from the district to 263. According to the provincial health department, the deaths were pending cases and had not been added to the district’s data earlier. Addition of 15 deaths in a day to the district’s dashboard has taken the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 from the twin cities to 409.

Only one out of seven patients died in the district was below 50 years of age while two were between 50 and 60 years of age and four were over 60 years of age. The patients belonging to Rawal Town, Cantonment Board area, Potohar Town, Tehsil Kahuta and Tehsil Taxila died here at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, and Corona Management Centre at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology.

In the last 24 hours, however, 134 new patients have been tested positive for the illness in the twin cities taking the total number of confirmed patients so far reported from the region to 19,404 on Friday.

According to Executive District Officer (Health) Rawalpindi Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary, as many as 36 patients were tested positive from Rawalpindi district in last 24 hours taking the tally to 5,575 of which 4188 have already been discharged after treatment while 343 have been undergoing treatment at both the public and private sector healthcare facilities across the district.

At present, a total of 781 confirmed patients of COVID-19 are in isolation at their homes while another 6450 persons have been under home quarantine in Rawalpindi district, he added.

Of a total of 19,404 patients so far reported from the region, as many as 14428 patients have already recovered from the illness while there were a total of 4567 active cases of the disease in the twin cities including 1124 in the district and 3,443 in ICT.

Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, 98 new patients were tested positive for the disease from ICT taking the tally to 13,829 of which 10,240 have so far recovered.