Corona claims 17 more lives in Multan

MULTAN: Seventeen corona patients died in the Nishtar Hospital during the three days of Eid.

Those died include Raheela Bibi, 43, of Gujrat, M Saleem, 50, and Kaneez Fatima of Multan. Total 249 patients are under treatment in the hospital. The divisional health authorities said that the corona positivity rating was reducing in the division. The corona positivity ratio in Multan is 3.23pc, Vehari 10.71pc and Lodhran 2.78pc.

Total 45 patients tested positive in the division where 1,295 corona tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. In Multan district, 37 patients tested positive after conducted 1,144 corona tests. No patient tested positive in Khanewal district where 24 corona tests were conducted. Two patients tested positive in Lodhran district which conducted 72 corona tests. The Vehari district conducted 56 corona tests and six patients tested positive.

Crops insurance: The Punjab Agriculture Department has started registration of cotton and paddy growers for the compensation of financial losses under the insurance Takaful scheme, a department spokesperson said on Saturday.

He said that the Punjab Agriculture Department (PAD), under the Crop Insurance (Takaful) Programme, had launched an insurance programme for cotton and paddy farmers in 27 districts of the Punjab for Kharif 2021/22 to compensate them for climate change, natural calamities and locust damage.

The districts included Lodhran, Khanewal, Vehari, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Layyah, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahimyar Khan, he added. He said that 50pc subsidy would be given on insurance premium to the farmers. In Kharif 2021-22, policy certificates would be issued to the farmers who insured cotton and paddy crops.

In case of loss of production at tehsil level, announcement would be made in December 2021 and the insurance company would contact all the insured farmers in January 2022. The company would be bound to compensate the farmers for the losses, the spokesperson added. The Punjab Crop Insurance Scheme would be applicable only to the production data obtained at the tehsil level on the issuance of statistics by the Punjab Crop Reporting Service Department of Agriculture.

Corona vaccination centres reopen: All coronavirus vaccination centres in Multan district reopened from May 15.

CEO Health Dr Shoaib-ur-Rehman Gormani stated this during his visit to Quaid-e-Azam Academy coronacentre on Saturday. He said vaccination centers would reopen from 8 am to 8 pm and people aged 40 and above could get doses of coronavirus vaccination.

He said the process of the vaccination was being expedited on the direction of Deputy Commissioner Ali Shehzad and Assistant Commissioner City Khawaja Umair Mehmood. It has also been decided to increase the facilities at coronavirus vaccination centres.