Positive cases fall to single digit after 11 months in Pindi district

RAWALPINDI: After 11 months, the number of Covid-19 patients in the district fell to single digit as only seven people contracted the deadly virus on Saturday.

In another development, inoculation of frontline workers of Holy Family Hospital (HFH) has started with 32 doctors, nurses and paramedical staff getting vaccinated.

According to a senior doctor, 1,590 doctors, nurses and paramedical staff have registered with the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) for vaccination.

At present there are 248 active patients in Rawalpindi district with 69 admitted to hospitals and the remaining 180 patients isolated in their homes.

Out of the seven new patients, five are from Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas and one each from Gujar Khan and Kallar Syedan.

As many as 51 patients are under treatment in Rawalpindi hospitals out of whom six were in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 18 in Fauji Foundation Hospital, 11 in HFH, one in Red Crescent Hospital, 12 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology, one in Begum Akhtar Memorial Hospital and two in Hearts International Hospital.

Five patients were on ventilator while 31 required oxygen assistance.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that the number of patients had reduced in Rawalpindi Division as 100 patients were under treatment in hospitals of the four districts out of whom 69 were in Rawalpindi, 25 in Attock and six in Jhelum.

“On Saturday, 16 patients were reported in the division — seven in Rawalpindi, five in Attock and four in Jhelum,” he said.

Mr Mehmood said 16,976 people had tested positive for Covid-19 since March 2020, with 13,786 in Rawalpindi, 1,225 in Attock, 1,339 in Jhelum and 620 in Chakwal.

As many as 15,818 patients have so far been discharged from hospitals after recovering in the four districts and 731 succumbed to the virus.