Infection rate reaches 8.48% in Pindi

Citizens started getting vaccinated against the coronavirus as part of a campaign launched by the Primary and Secondary Health Department Punjab as the number of cases continued to rise in the Rawalpindi district.

Like other provincial districts, the door-to-door vaccination drive will continue in Rawalpindi till August 10 given the steady increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the district.

During the ongoing campaign, 70 per cent of the adult population will be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the Rawalpindi district.

So far, 1,068,177 people have got themselves vaccinated against coronavirus in the district.

According to officials, the positivity rate of coronavirus in the Rawalpindi district has reached 8.48 per cent and so far, 1,017 citizens have lost their lives to the deadly virus. Meanwhile, 625 people including 33 delta variant patients are in isolation at home in the district.

Health officials said that with the arrival of 82 new Covid patients during the last 24 hours, the number of positive patients has risen to 26,238 while a total of 26,156 Covid-19 patients have so far been discharged from hospitals of the district.

Moreover, two patients passed away during the same period. Three major government hospitals, Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and the Institute of Urology, have 126 coronavirus patients in total. Of these, 113 have been put on oxygen while four are on ventilators.

Health experts said that ignoring SOPs was the main cause behind the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the district. A majority of citizens are reluctant to wear masks, use sanitisers and maintain social distancing. Mass gatherings at cattle markets preceding Eidul Azha also contributed to the increasing number of coronavirus cases as people barely wore masks.

They warned that if the citizens continued to behave irresponsibly, the number of Covid-19 cases will continue to rise and the population will be at the risk of catching the delta variant which is more lethal than the first three waves.

According to District Health Authority Chief Executive Dr Faiza Kanwal, 31 per cent of the total population in Rawalpindi has been vaccinated against coronavirus.

As the infection rate continues to rise in the district, health authorities have advised citizens to wear masks, maintain social distancing, use sanitisers, stay away from shaking hands and wash hands repeatedly with soap for at least 20 seconds.

Meanwhile, vaccines are being administered at 30 centres across the district of Rawalpindi. According to the officials, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines are available for vaccination.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2021.