Road blockades, suspended cellular services hamper COVID-19 testing

Rawalpindi:Suspension of cellular services in Rawalpindi and blockades of almost all major roads particularly leading to Murree Road (Benazir Bhutto Road) since Sunday dawn have hampered testing of suspects of coronavirus illness while causing difficulties for patients and their attendants to reach both the public and private hospitals for screening or treatment.

The second wave of COVID-19 outbreak that is hitting population in the region much harder has already taken shape almost similar to that of June and in the existing circumstances, the blockage of roads and streets along with suspended mobile phone services also caused hindrance in carrying out surveillance activities in town.

In the last 24 hours, however, another four deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported from Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi district taking the death toll from the region to 609 while another 243 patients have been tested positive from the region taking the tally to over 32,000 on Monday.

The virus claimed two more lives in ICT taking the death toll from the federal capital to 257 while two confirmed patients from Rawalpindi district died of the disease here at Holy Family Hospital in town taking the death toll from the district to 352.

In the last 24 hours, as many as 224 new patients have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Islamabad Capital Territory taking the total number of confirmed patients of the disease from the federal capital to 24,218. To date, 20,274 patients have recovered in the federal capital. The number of active cases of COVID-19 has jumped to 3,687 in ICT on Monday.

From Rawalpindi district, as many as 23 new patients have been tested positive in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 7824 of which 7,824 have recovered. A total of 52 patients have been undergoing treatment at the healthcare facilities in the district where as many as 654 confirmed patients have been in isolation at their homes, said Executive District Officer (Health) Rawalpindi Dr. Sohail Ahmed Chaudhary while talking to ‘The News’.

He added the number of COVID-19 suspects under home quarantine has reached 1751 on Monday while 4,789 suspects have so far been relieved from home quarantine. It is worth mentioning here that on October 15, there were nearly 1,170 active cases of the illness in ICT and Rawalpindi district combined that has been recorded as 4,393 on Monday.