Single-day Covid fatalities hit 89

Almost all Covid-19 indicators in the country continued to show an upward trajectory, with the death toll reaching the levels of June, when the first wave of Covid-19 was at its peak, according to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data on Tuesday.

During the last 24 hours, the NCOC data revealed that 89 people died of the coronavirus while 2,885 people were tested positive after conducting 33,610 tests. This puts the national Covid positivity ratio at 8.58%, according to the data.

The death toll is the highest since July 4, when the NCOC had reported 93 fatalities. The data further showed that 41 people each died in Sindh and Punjab, while six people breathed their last because of the deadly contagion in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The second coronavirus wave, described by Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Dr Faisal Sultan as “more lethal and severe”, has forced the authorities in Lahore to enforce smart lockdowns in several areas of the city.

The Punjab government imposed smart lockdowns in 55 localities, putting some 11 million people under restrictions, after the health department officials said that the current coronavirus situation had aggravated to the same level witnessed in the month of June.

“Controlled entry and exit has been enforced in 55 localities of Lahore’s Data Gunj Baksh Town, Shalimar Town, Samnabad Town, Aziz Bhatti Town and Allama Iqbal Town till December 21 with immediate effect,” a notification of the provincial government said.

In the notification, the health department said that all markets, shopping malls, restaurants, offices (public and private) in these localities would remain closed. “The rest of Lahore shall remain open in compliance with the health department’s order dated October 30, 2020,” it added.

Lahore, with 60,755 coronavirus cases, accounts for almost half of the total Punjab’s 124,191 infections since the pandemic began. The city recorded 149 cases and 13 deaths from the virus on December 7. So far, 3,218 people have died in the province, with Lahore accounting for 1,282 of these deaths.

More lethal and severe

The country is in the grip of a second wave of the contagion, which first emerged in February. “The second wave is more lethal and severe in Pakistan,” Dr Sultan, the special assistant to the PM on National Health Services, told a media briefing at the NCOC.

He urged the people to strictly observe the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs). “The disastrous effects of the second wave can only be alleviated by taking precautionary measures across the country by the citizens,” he added.

“The increasing number of coronavirus cases is a threat. It can badly impact our economy, especially that education and healthcare system, which is already overburdened. The disease has individual and collective impacts on our lives,” Dr Sultan said.

He requested all departments to ensure implementation of the SOPs among their staff and premises in detail. “If we follow these guidelines, we will be able to reduce this risk of the pandemic as witnessed during the first wave,” Dr Sultan added. (WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)