Another child falls prey to Covid

Virus kills nine more people in Rawalpindi

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI:

A child has succumbed to the coronavirus in the federal capital on Monday. According to details, a child at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) died of the virus, taking the tally of children killed by the contagion in Islamabad to four while 88 more cases were reported in the capital in a span of 24 hours.

A PIMS official said that the infected children also suffered from other diseases such as pneumonia, therefore, it was difficult to assert whether the death was caused by the virus or not. They added that in the federal capital, as many as 7,417 children up to 10 years of age have tested positive for Covid so far.

Furthermore, nine patients undergoing treatment for Covid died in Rawalpindi, a spokesperson said. Out of 300 patients receiving treatment, 249 were put on oxygen tanks as 90 per cent of the newly admitted patients require being immediately shifted to oxygen tanks.

According to details, four patients in Holy Family Hospital (HFH), three patients at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUKT) and two at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) died in a span of 24 hours. Across the three hospitals, 15 patients were shifted to ventilators while a large number of critical patients were shifted from normal oxygen to ‘Y’ tubing respiratory connectors.

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Given the growing need for oxygen and ventilators, the supply of liquid oxygen cylinders in three V tanks with a capacity of 30,000 litres in the three aforementioned hospitals has been ensured, an official stated. As a pre-emptive measure, some 550 oxygen cylinders have also been arranged at the healthcare facilities, they added.

Furthermore, in 24 hours, 68 more patients were confirmed in the Rawalpindi district while 62,959 people have so far been vaccinated against the deadly virus of which 13,958 are health workers, a spokesperson from the District Health Authority (DHA) stated. Moreover, 19,034 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering while 4,701 patients are quarantined at homes, they added.

With a spike in infected patients, the DHA has once again asked the citizens to ensure strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of the virus. On the other hand, violations of SOPs on the streets of business centres are on the rise. The majority of citizens are reluctant to wear masks and, as a result, crowded places can become hotspots.

School sealed in Attock

The number of confirmed coronavirus patients in Attock surged to 1,822 as 19 more patients were detected on Monday, said a district official. District Focal Person for Covid Kashif Hussain said of the newly positive patients, 13 belong to Attock, three from Hazro, two from Pindigheb while one hails from Jand.

He informed the number of active patients in the district is 341 of which 335 are in isolation at homes while six patients are hospitalised. He further stated that 13 people suspected of suffering from the virus are admitted to District Headquarters Hospital of which two are in critical condition.

Hussain said that the number of suspected patients in the district had increased to 31,084 while 34,336 persons were screened across the district for Covid out of which 28,584 people tested negative. He further said that results of 738 people are awaited, adding that so far 1,426 people have recovered from the virus in the district.

Meanwhile, another school closed down in Attock after a teacher tested positive. The authorities in Attock sealed a school and started screening of students and teachers. According to the official, a teacher of Government Girls' High School Kallu Kallan in tehsil Hazro tested positive on Monday.

A team of local administration led by Assistant Commissioner Shagufta Jabeen rushed to the school and supervised the disinfection of the facility. The school was sealed and closed for a week as part of preventive measures to avert further spread of Covid among students and staff.

She said the decision of resuming the academic session in the school would be taken after receiving the results of the samples taken from the students and teachers.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2021.