Five cities dens of country’s 70% Covid spread

NCOC observes Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi contributing to most of cases

ISLAMABAD:

The country's nerve centre for Covid-19 response was briefed on Sunday that five major cities – Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi – were contributing to 70% of the nationwide coronavirus caseload.

The participants of a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) were further informed that the countrywide Covid-19 positivity ratio had hit 7.01% and 46 coronavirus deaths on an average were recorded in the outgoing week.

A total of 2,186 coronavirus patients are in a critical situation across the country including 681 in Sindh, 620 in Punjab, 488 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 315 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 50 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and 16 each in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. An average of 237 hospital admissions was reported in the outgoing week.

The forum was briefed on the disease pattern, the positivity ratio in various areas and the measures being taken to contain the virus.

According to the NCOC data released on Sunday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in the country has reached 47,390 as 2,829 more people tested positive for the deadly virus during the last 24 hours.

The highest positivity ratio of 24.85% was observed in Mirpur, followed by 22.181% in Hyderabad and 18.96% in Karachi.

The positivity ratio in AJK stands at 16.58%, followed by 15.31% in Sindh, 9.12% in Balochistan, 5.56% in G-B, 5.30% in ICT, 5.3% in K-P, and 3.45% in Punjab.

In Punjab, Rawalpindi has a positivity ratio 6.80%, Lahore 4% and Multan 2.55 %.

In Sindh, the positivity ratio in Karachi stands at 18.96% and 22.18% in Hyderabad.

Peshawar has a positivity ratio of 11.12%., Quetta 8.84%, Mirpur 24.85%, Muzaffarabad 17.95% and Gilgit 6.77%.

As many as 273 coronavirus patients are on ventilators across the country. In Punjab, there are 63 patients on ventilators in Lahore, 41 in Multan, 25 in Rawalpindi and four in Faisalabad.

In Sindh, there are 61 patients on ventilators in Karachi. There are 34 patients on ventilators in Peshawar and 45 in ICT.

A total of 2,964 hospital beds equipped with oxygen cylinders are occupied by Covid-19 patients across the country.

The Covid-19 mortality analysis shows that the total deaths due to the virus stand at 7,985. The Covid fatality rate (CFR) has reached 2.02% against the global 2.33%.

Around 71% of the victims were male. Of them, 76% were over the age of 50.

The analysis further shows that 72% of the patients who died of Covid-19 had chronic comorbidities (meaning having different diseases existing at the same time with another disease for a long period of time).

Around 91% of the deceased patients remained hospitalised and 58% of them were kept on ventilators.

Highlighting the intensity of the second wave of the pandemic, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the "problem confronting us in Pakistan during Covid-19 is of a political leadership that has never gone through any democratic struggle, nor worked with ordinary citizens to understand the problems they confront, nor contributed in any substantive way for betterment of ordinary citizens".

In   a series of tweets, the premier lambasted the opposition for persisting on holding rallies under the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) banner despite a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases across the country.

“[The opposition alliance’s] only goal is NRO at whatever cost to the lives of people and the country's economy," he said.

 "In fact not only do these ‘leaders’ lack any empathy with the masses, their families looted national wealth to further impoverish our masses. These entitled ‘leaders’ living like royalty in their secluded mansions, have simply inherited their positions because of their families."

The prime minister maintained that the opposition's only purpose for holding rallies was to "save their families looted wealth and corruption of which they are an integral part”.

“This is all that guides their politics, not any concern for the lives of ordinary citizens. Their desperation to get NRO any which way they can motivates them,” he added.

Referring to the first wave of the virus in the country, the premier criticised the opposition parties for pressuring the government back then to impose a countrywide lockdown, while disregarding the government's current ban on public gatherings.

"So, when we did smart lockdown to save our poor from becoming destitute and save economy from total collapse, these ‘leaders’ opposed and demanded complete lockdown. Now, with new spike, when we again need smart lockdown, they want jalsas not caring for the lives and safety of people," he observed.

The prime minister's comments come a day before the PDM's Multan rally, which is being staged despite the ban on political gatherings due to the increase in Covid-19 cases.