Second wave of corona hits Abbottabad, Mansehra hard

ABBOTTABAD: The second wave of the coronavirus has badly affected the Hazara division particularly Abbottabad and Mansehra districts where more than 637 positive cases have been reported in a short span of time which has increased burden on the Ayub Teaching Hospital , the only tertiary care hospital in the region.

The coronavirus is spreading rapidly in the Hazara and so far 646 corona positive cases have been confirmed in eight districts of the division in the last two months. Abbottabad has reported 288 cases followed by Mansehra with 233, Haripur 79, Battagram 15, Torghar 19, Upper Kohistan 11 and Lower Kohistan 1 cases whereas no case has been reported in Kolai-Palas district. The situation is getting worse day by day particularly in urban areas despite strict measures for implementation of SOPs. As many as 127 smart lockdowns were implemented in Abbottabad and Haripur in last week to control the situation. About 85 educational institutions, three commercial buildings, six hotels and 30 rural and urban residences had been sealed when coronavirus cases were reported.

Medical Director Prof Dr Ahsan Aurangzeb told this correspondent that currently 66 patients were under treatment at the Ayub Teaching Hospital out of whom 14 were stated to be critical.

He said that in view of the threat of the second wave of Covid-19 in winter, precautionary measures must be taken. He said the fear of an increase in corona cases due to congested areas could not be ruled out, urging the public to take precautionary measures and avoid crowded places. He asked the general public to wear facemasks, avoid congested places, maintain social distancing and seek medical advice if they had flu-like symptoms.

District Health Officer Abbottabad Dr Faisal Khanzada said that with 288 new active cases, the number of corona positive cases in Abbottabad increased to 2123 of whom 1,745 have recovered while 90 patients had died.