Five more coronavirus patients die in Punjab

LAHORE : Five more COVID19 patients died and another 124 new infections were confirmed in Punjab during the last 24 hours, according to a report issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare (P&SH) Department on Saturday.

The toll of fatalities increased to 2,288 in Punjab, while confirmed cases of coronavirus reached 101,425 in the province. Out of a total of 101,425 infections in Punjab, 98,645 citizens contracted the virus through local transmission. The remaining 2,780 COVID19 infections were confirmed among members of Tableeghi Jamaat, Zaireen returning from Iran and prisoners.

As per the spokesperson for the Corona Monitoring Room at the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, 12,136 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, which raised the total number of tests to 1,431,422 in the province.

After 2,288 fatalities and recovery of a total of 97,089 patients, 2,048 active cases still remain, who are either isolated at homes or under treatment at different quarantine centres and health facilities.

dengue patient: One more patient has been confirmed positive for dengue virus, which raised the total cases of dengue fever in Punjab to 153 this year so far, according to a report issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare (P&SH) Department on Saturday.

The dengue virus positive case was diagnosed in Lahore. Eight dengue fever patients are under treatment in hospitals, while all other patients have recovered. No death due to dengue fever has occurred in Punjab this year so far.

Lahore and Rawalpindi have been most affected districts due to confirmed dengue virus cases as well as presence of dengue larvae in houses and outdoor places. In Punjab, Lahore and Rawalpindi districts have registered maximum number of 44 and 16 confirmed cases of dengue virus respectively this year so far. Islamabad, however, confirmed 29 cases of dengue virus.

The dengue larvae have been found in 5,371 houses in Lahore and 1,706 houses in Rawalpindi in the last one week. The presence of dengue larvae has been found at 308 outdoor spots in Lahore and 165 outdoor places in Rawalpindi in the last one week.

Corona safety kits: Lahore Police has distributed more than 325,000 face masks, 34,324 sanitisers packs, 7,669 face shields, more than 148,000 gloves, 4,000 rain/safety suits, 11000 pairs of glasses and more than 9,000 personal protective kits among police force as precautionary measures against coronavirus.

The masks and sanitiser were distributed among the employees of different offices of Lahore Police, all police stations, Naaka Jaat and pickets.

DIG Operations Lahore Ashfaq Khan said that an all-out effort was being made to protect the employees of Lahore Police from the dangers of coronavirus by ensuring all possible precautionary measures, including germ killing sprays and use of safety gadgets. He directed all police officers and officials to strictly follow the SOPs related regarding coronavirus.

UVAS seminar: University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) organised a seminar “Enhancing Small Ruminant Production to Benefit Farming Families in Sindh and Punjab” on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad emphasised that small ruminant was the major component of the smallholder farming system. He said such seminars were important for project visibility and knowledge sharing. Research findings would lead to measure the impact of the project interventions on smallholder farming families, he added.

A small ruminant team presented the findings of research activities conducted in Chakwal, Bhakkar, Rajanpur, Tharparker, Badin and Tando Allahyar. Dr Rebecca Doyle and Dr Angus Campbell, project leaders, shared the future strategies and support resources for improved growth and management of young and adult goats/sheep, value chain interventions and extension material on the issues that are grounded in research and inclusive of the needs of all members of small ruminant farming families.

The project is supported by Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) and is implemented by UVAS and University of Melbourne, Australia.