Coronavirus claims another nine lives in twin cities

Wearing facemasks made mandatory in public places

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI:

The novel coronavirus claimed another nine lives in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Some five patients in Islamabad and four in Rawalpindi succumbed to the deadly virus during the past 24 hours. The death toll in the capital territory has reached 224.

Besides this, some 224 new cases surfaced in Islamabad along with fatalities, District Health Authority (DHA) reported. The new infections were reported among 139 men and 85 women. Further, some 18,065 patients have recovered so far in the federal capital while the number of active cases reported is 1,536.

Moreover, some four people under treatment at Rawalpindi’s Holy Family Hospital (HFH) also succumbed to the virus. The fatalities include Mehrun Nisa and Malik Haq Nawaz who hailed from Rawalpindi while the other two include Abdul Hafeez from Gujjar Khan and Afzal from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

HFH officials told The Express Tribune that there were 31 coronavirus patients receiving treatment at the healthcare facilities. Among them, seven are on ventilators.

Wearing facemasks mandatory in public spaces

Wearing facemasks will be mandatory in public places from Monday, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamza Shafqaat on Sunday adding that the directive is meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

In a tweet, the Islamabad DC said violators would face penalties, adding, in line with a decision taken by the federal government the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) on Sunday declared that all residents have to wear a face mask in public places.

To ensure that everyone has access to masks at an affordable price, Shafqaat said that they were controlling it under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

He warned the violator could be jailed too depending on the severity of the flouting of social distancing protocols and precautionary guidelines.

"We have to protect people from coronavirus second wave which can be done only if shopkeepers, restaurant owners, vendors, transporters and other business owners follow the SOPs devised by the government," he said."We have sealed around 50 schools, hotspot areas, hotels, streets and fined where the citizens were not following their SOPs," said DC.

He said teams are monitoring and implementing strict of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and extensive c contact tracing will be carried out in these streets and adjacent areas.

Director General Health Dr Hassan Urooj Sunday that the widespread wearing of face masks indoor as well outdoor places could go a long way toward reducing coronavirus transmission rates and might help control a second wave of the virus.

“Use of facemask combined with physical distancing and smart lockdown may offer an acceptable way of managing the pandemic and maintaining economic activity long before there is a working vaccine,” Urooj said talking to the state-owned television channel PTV.

He said wearing a face mask could be more effective in preventing an individual coronavirus infection than getting a vaccine. Due to hygiene and pandemic risk, face masks must not be recycled, he said, adding that used masks should not even come into contact with humans after disposal.

He noted putting masks into recycle bins or drop off points should be strictly prohibited because it could contaminate all other recyclable materials left there.

Dr Urooj also called for Covid-19-related waste to be segregated at household level, with the waste container sealed and kept safe from scavengers. Replying a Question, he said more streets have been sealed as part of the Islamabad smart lockdown due to the rising number of coronavirus cases being reported in the capital.

With additional input by APP

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2020.