K-P’s Covid-19 toll rises to 311
One patient dies in Buner; DI Khan hotel manager arrested for sheltering Chinese citizens
PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
The provincial health department on Thursday said at least 37 cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) were confirmed in the province over the past 24 hours while one positive patient succumbed to the disease.
The daily report issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Department on Thursday said that 124 suspected Covid-19 patients had emerged in the past 24 hours while tests of 37 patients came back positive.
Most of the 37 cases were in Peshawar — 17 cases, followed by Kohat with six, and Lower Dir with five. Another two tested positive in Upper Dir, and one each in Abbottabad, Buner, Hangu, Karak, Mansehra, Nowshera and Swabi districts.
The report said at least one death of Covid-19 patient was reported from Buner district.
The welcome news was that no new Covid-19 positive case was detected amongst the 413 pilgrims kept at quarantine centres in Dera Ismail Khan.
It added that the K-P Health Department has decided to start Covid-19 tests at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC). This will help bolster the capacity of the province to conduct tests in the province where tests were previously only being conducted at the Public Health Reference Laboratory.
Meanwhile, the provincial government had decided to strengthen and expand the laboratory and testing facilities provided to the Mufti Mehmood Hospital in DI Khan.
Suspected hotspot
Meanwhile, there were reports that Swabi had emerged as a new cluster for Covid-19 cases with at least 22 suspected patients. However, the health department’s report stated that of the 22 suspected patients tested there, only five were found to be positive and 17 were negative.
A source at the Swabi district health department suggested that the disease was possibly spread in the area by a man who had arrived in the Chota Lahore tehsil of the district from Karachi aboard a truck. The patient spent a few days at his home and travelled to different areas within the district. The man had later tested positive for Covid-19.
The source further informed that police and army personnel are likely to seal the affected villages comprising 110 houses.
DI Khan hotel manager arrested
The DI Khan police on Thursday arrested a hotel manager who allegedly provided shelter to Chinese citizens without first informing the local authorities. The hotel has become the source of the virus spreading, officials claimed.
A source in the DI Khan police told The Express Tribune that four Chinese nationals had arrived in the district and stayed at a local hotel recently. Meanwhile, a suspected Covid-19 patient, Amir, succumbed to the virus.
The Chinese nationals have been shifted to Islamabad and an investigation has been launched into the incident.
Tableeghi Jamaat members
K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Thursday said the provincial was taking good care of all Tableeghi Jamaat members who hail from different provinces and are currently staying in different parts of K-P.
“These individuals of Tableeghi Jamaat are our guests and brothers who have come to our province with a great cause of preaching the true teachings of Islam,” Mahmood said while speaking to the media during his visit to Bannu and Kurrum districts.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2020.
The provincial health department on Thursday said at least 37 cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) were confirmed in the province over the past 24 hours while one positive patient succumbed to the disease.
The daily report issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Department on Thursday said that 124 suspected Covid-19 patients had emerged in the past 24 hours while tests of 37 patients came back positive.
Most of the 37 cases were in Peshawar — 17 cases, followed by Kohat with six, and Lower Dir with five. Another two tested positive in Upper Dir, and one each in Abbottabad, Buner, Hangu, Karak, Mansehra, Nowshera and Swabi districts.
The report said at least one death of Covid-19 patient was reported from Buner district.
The welcome news was that no new Covid-19 positive case was detected amongst the 413 pilgrims kept at quarantine centres in Dera Ismail Khan.
It added that the K-P Health Department has decided to start Covid-19 tests at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC). This will help bolster the capacity of the province to conduct tests in the province where tests were previously only being conducted at the Public Health Reference Laboratory.
Meanwhile, the provincial government had decided to strengthen and expand the laboratory and testing facilities provided to the Mufti Mehmood Hospital in DI Khan.
Suspected hotspot
Meanwhile, there were reports that Swabi had emerged as a new cluster for Covid-19 cases with at least 22 suspected patients. However, the health department’s report stated that of the 22 suspected patients tested there, only five were found to be positive and 17 were negative.
A source at the Swabi district health department suggested that the disease was possibly spread in the area by a man who had arrived in the Chota Lahore tehsil of the district from Karachi aboard a truck. The patient spent a few days at his home and travelled to different areas within the district. The man had later tested positive for Covid-19.
The source further informed that police and army personnel are likely to seal the affected villages comprising 110 houses.
DI Khan hotel manager arrested
The DI Khan police on Thursday arrested a hotel manager who allegedly provided shelter to Chinese citizens without first informing the local authorities. The hotel has become the source of the virus spreading, officials claimed.
A source in the DI Khan police told The Express Tribune that four Chinese nationals had arrived in the district and stayed at a local hotel recently. Meanwhile, a suspected Covid-19 patient, Amir, succumbed to the virus.
The Chinese nationals have been shifted to Islamabad and an investigation has been launched into the incident.
Tableeghi Jamaat members
K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Thursday said the provincial was taking good care of all Tableeghi Jamaat members who hail from different provinces and are currently staying in different parts of K-P.
“These individuals of Tableeghi Jamaat are our guests and brothers who have come to our province with a great cause of preaching the true teachings of Islam,” Mahmood said while speaking to the media during his visit to Bannu and Kurrum districts.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2020.