Over 3,000 people infected in Swat

SWAT:

With the winter tourism season commencing, the Swat district administration has claimed that the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the valley is in control.

In a news briefing in Saidu Sharif on Saturday, Swat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Saqib Aslam said that some 32,357 samples were collected in the entire district of which 3,366 samples tested positive.

Moreover, Aslam said that 71 patients in the district are still suffering from the virus.

The deputy commissioner added that they are ensuring the implementation of the preventive SOPs through public cooperation and systematic awareness campaigns.

“Winter tourism is also on the rise this year,” Aslam said, adding, “Covid-19 outbreak rates are low. Novel coronavirus outbreaks have been observed in other parts of the country, so the implementation of SOPs will require more stringent measures.”

He added that the district administration had conducted 18,351 inspections in the past three months and imposed fines worth Rs1 million for repeated violations of SOPs.

During the brief, Swat District Health Officer Dr Akram Shah said that the rate of Covid-19 outbreak in rural and hilly areas was almost non-existent with the virus largely present in urban and densely populated areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2020.