Another 35 COVID patients die

LAHORE : As many as 35 COVID-19 patients died and 602 new positive cases were confirmed in Punjab during the last 24 hours.

According to Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD) report issued on Saturday, the toll of fatalities was raised to 9,960 in Punjab, while confirmed cases of coronavirus reached 338,377 in the province.

After 9,960 fatalities and recovery of a total of 308,275 patients, as many as 20,142 active cases still remain, who are either isolated at homes or under treatment at different quarantine centres and health facilities.

407 corona patients recover: Around 290,089 corona patients have recovered in public sector hospitals while 407 patients recovered during the last 24 hours.

This was disclosed by Barrister Nabeel Ahmed Awan, Secretary Specialized Healthcare Punjab on Saturday. He said 7,576 beds were reserved in all govt hospitals for corona patients, out of which 5,618 beds were unoccupied. Likewise, 1,648 beds were reserved in govt hospitals and 1,218 beds were vacant so far. The secretary said in view of the surging corona pandemic, the department had arranged 3,328 beds in isolation wards of all govt hospitals in the province, out of which, 2758 beds were vacant.

However, 446 beds for corona patients are reserved in isolation wards set up in govt hospitals of Lahore and 358 beds are unoccupied. In addition, 3,459 beds are also reserved in HDU for patients suffering from Covid-19 in all the hospitals of Punjab government and 2,371 beds are vacant while, in hospitals of Lahore, 927 beds were reserved in HDU and 712 beds are unoccupied, Nabeel Awan added.

The secretary said the health department had arranged 789 ventilators for corona patients in all hospitals of the province, of which 300 ventilators were under use while 489 were unoccupied. Around 284 ventilators are reserved in Lahore hospitals, of which 126 are occupied and 158 ventilators are vacant, he said.

COVID-19 deaths, cases on decline in twin cities: The lowest number of cases and the lowest positivity rate of COVID-19 have been recorded from Islamabad Capital Territory in the last 24 hours since the beginning of the third wave of the outbreak in Pakistan with 80 new cases at a positivity rate of 1.8 per cent.

The virus, however, claimed as many as three more lives from ICT and Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours including two lives from the federal capital while 136 new patients have been tested positive for the illness from the twin cities taking the tally to 105,203.

District Health Officer ICT Dr. Muhammad Zaeem Zia informed ‘The News’ on Saturday that the positivity rate of COVID-19 from the federal capital has dropped down to 1.8 per cent in the last 24 hours, the lowest after the first week of March this year.

He added the number of cases reported from ICT in the last 24 hours is the lowest in a day since the third wave of COVID-19 hit the region.

Data collected by ‘The News’ reveals that a total of 755 patients belonging to the federal capital have so far died of the disease. Meanwhile, the death of another patient from Rawalpindi has taken the death toll from the district to 959.

In the last 24 hours, confirmation of another 80 patients positive from ICT has taken tally to 81,007 of which 74,271 confirmed patients have recovered.