Another 97 contract Covid-19 in capital

Rawalpindi confirms 35 new cases

ISLAMABAD:

Amid fears of a second wave, as many as 97 fresh cases were confirmed in the federal capital while another 35 cases were confirmed in the neighbouring Rawalpindi.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) said that as many as 17,428 cases of the pandemic virus have been confirmed so far from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) with 189 associated deaths. Of those infected, 16,403 patients have made a full recovery.

Similarly, 35 new cases were confirmed in Rawalpindi, taking the total number of cases there to 8,224 cases.

Meanwhile, on the directions of the Ministry of National Health Services, the ICT administration has started imposing smart and micro lockdowns in different streets of the federal capital to curb the transmission of the virus.

Moreover, the district administration has also started taking action on a violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19, with inspection teams visiting marriage halls, markets and fuel pumps to check the levels of SOP implementation.

The administration also sealed schools, shops and restaurants which were defying SOPs. The inspection teams also issued notices to marriage halls apart from imposing fines on owners of different shops.

An official of the health ministry said that several local administrative decisions have been made to control the spread of the disease. He advised citizens to continue following social distancing rules, use of facemasks and other precautionary measures to stop the local transmission of the virus.

He added that the government has adopted an effective strategy to combat Covid-19 which has resulted in a reduction in Covid-19 cases in the country.

The main focus of the strategy is to control the disease on the one hand and maintaining business activities of small and poor traders on the other.

On strategies devised to control the virus, keeping in view global information and focusing on data, he said that the ministry has also asked schools in Islamabad to strictly implement SOPs to ensure the protection of students from Covid-19.