Number of polio refusal cases decreases in Mardan

MARDAN: An official has said that the anti-polio campaign has been successfully undertaken in the district and the number of refusal cases decreased from 2,900 to 2,400 in the latest drive.

Talking to reporters here, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Abid Wazir added that a total of 384,189 children up to the age of five were administered anti-polio drops and vitamin A capsules in this campaign.

He said 1,464 polio teams performed duty in the anti-polio campaign, adding that 2,238 cops had been deployed to provide security to the vaccinators.

The official added that children aged from six months to five years were given vitamin A capsules.

He added that religious scholars, media persons, elders of the areas and local government representatives played an important role in the success of the five-day campaign.

The official said that foolproof security arrangements had been made for the campaign and pillion riding was banned during the campaign to avoid any untoward incident.

Answering a question about the coronavirus situation in the district, he said the first wave of the coronavirus was more dangerous than the second one.

He added that around 54,170 people had been screened in the district so far and around 23,832 tests were conducted.

Out of these, he explained, 21,044 were declared negative while the results of 934 suspected patients were still awaited.

The official added that 1,634 patients had recovered while 81 patients died in the district.

He added that 31 patients were admitted to isolation centres while 115 patients were in isolation at homes.