-Schools closed in eight KP districts
-Covid kills 58, infects 2,511 across country in single day
-15 new mass vaccination centers to become functional from today
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: In an alarming sign, the national positivity ratio of Pakistan shot past 7% on Tuesday after over 2,500 cases were reported in the last 24 hours.Daily data issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed that 35,303 tests were conducted in the country in the last 24 hours out of which 2,511 returned as positive taking the positivity ratio to 7.1%.
While, the positivity ratio in the federal capital has reached 7.7%, the District Health Officer said. The DHO said that 414 cases came out positive.
The new positive cases takes the national total of coronavirus positive cases to 609,964.
The NCOC said out that 11,089 have been reported in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 19,233 in Balochistan, 4,961 in Gilgit Baltistan, 48,495 in Islamabad, 76,379 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 188,225 in Punjab, and 261,582 in Sindh.
Total active coronavirus cases in Pakistan stands at 23,355.On the other hand, the country also lost 58 people to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours with the most deaths occurring in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The new deaths takes the national tally of coronavirus deaths to 13,595. The breakdown showed that 4,461 patients have died in Sindh, 5,812 in Punjab, 2,169 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 526 in Islamabad, 202 in Balochistan, 103 in Gilgit Baltistan, 322 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Schools Closed: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to close schools in eight districts of the province in a bid to curb spread of coronavirus.
The districts that will be affected by the closure include Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat, Malakand, Swat and Lower Dir.
A high level meeting under the chair of CM KP Mahmood Khan reviewed coronavirus situation in the province and formed a committee consisting of concerned ministers to mull over closure of markets too.
The meeting was briefed that coronavirus positivity rate in southern districts is one persons and a conditional permission has been granted for jeep rally and Derajat festival.
The meeting decided that coronavirus related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be strictly enforced in the festival and in case of noncompliance, the programs will be closed.
CM Mehmood Khan said third wave of coronavirus is worrisome but government is taking all necessary measures to curb spread of the disease.
He urged people to strictly follow SOPs and precautionary measures.Vaccination Centers: All preparations have been finalized to open 15 mass vaccination centers across the country in order to expedite the anti-COVID inoculation process.
The mass vaccination centers being established in the top 15 Covid-19 affected cities.
The cities where the government has planned to establish mass vaccination centers included Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Multan, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Abbottabad and Mansehra.
As per details, the Islamabad administration has decided to establish a mass vaccination centre at Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre (IHITC).
Around 4000 people would be vaccinated against coronavirus on daily basis at the Islamabad Isolation Hospital. The vaccination centre will have 40 counters, nine observation beds, 18 big and 12 small rooms. Moreover, three doctors and six nurses will perform duties in the Islamabad vaccination centre.
