Hospitals see relentless spurt in dengue cases

Coronavirus claim two more lives in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

Dengue cases continue to rise in Rawalpindi as 27 new mosquito-infected were admitted to hospitals in Rawalpindi during the last 24 hours.

Around 448 patients have so far contracted the mosquito-borne virus this season in the Rawalpindi district, health officials said.

Some 195 beds have been allocated for dengue patients in three allied hospitals of Rawalpindi and of which 126 were occupied.

According to health officials, the condition of three dengue patients undergoing treatment in the Holy Family Hospital was critical.

The anti-dengue surveillance in Rawalpindi has been expedited as some 14,455 houses have been sprayed until now.

Besides this, the anti-dengue teams carried out fumigation at 7,382 outdoor spots.

The district administration has directed the health department to expedite the anti-dengue drive to cull more and more larvae. It has also been instructed to increase the number of teams for this purpose.

The health department has been directed to conduct fogging of houses surrounding the houses of dengue-infected patients.

Health experts said the dengue threat will keep looming until the temperature decreased.

Dengue in Abbottabad

During the current season, 112 patients with dengue fever were admitted to Ayub Medical Complex (AMC) and 98 patients were discharged after recovery and one patient has died in the district headquarters hospital Abbottabad.

ATH spokesperson said in a press statement that dengue patients who were admitted to hospitals included 22 women, 74 males and 16 children, while at present, only 13 dengue fever patients were admitted to the hospital.

He said that all dengue fever patients who were registered in AMC and DHQ Abbottabad were provided complete free treatment, lab tests and other facilities. The health department and the district administration jointly carried out fumigation all across the district, including the far-flung areas from where the dengue fever patients had been brought, he said.

Two coronavirus patients die

Two patients under treatment in the coronavirus ward in the Benazir Bhutto Hospital breathed their last during the last 24 hours, the health officials said.

According to the health officials, the Covid-19 positivity ratio in Rawalpindi has plummeted to 1.29 per cent as only 27 citizens contracted the virus during the last 24 hours.

Read More: No let-up in dengue cases in Rawalpindi

The number of coronavirus patients receiving treatment at allied hospitals was 65 and of whom, 55 were on oxygen and nine on ventilators, they said.

As the Covid-19 is losing steam, the special ward in the Holy Family Hospital has been shut down and the patients were shifted to the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant.

The ward in HFH has been converted to a dedicated ward for dengue patients.

Meanwhile, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and Rawalpindi Regional Transport Authority (RTA) checked the compliance of vaccination of public transport drivers, passengers on different local routes within the city and at the metro bus stations.

The teams checked over 200 vans and buses on various local routes of Rawalpindi and imposed fines for not getting a vaccination against the coronavirus.

Cases were also registered against several drivers and they were shifted to police stations, while the passengers were vaccinated single shot of Cansino on the spot.

Similarly, during in another drive at metro bus stations in Rawalpindi, the team checked the vaccination certificates of metro bus staffers, drivers and passengers.

The unvaccinated passengers at the metro bus stations were injected a single shot of the Cansino vaccine on the spot. The inspection teams also checked the vaccination certificates of Bykea riders on different routes, imposed fines on non-vaccinated drivers, they were also injected a single shot of Cansino on the spot.

Meanwhile, the Jhelum health department also set up a coronavirus vaccination camp at the general bus stand, where the drivers, conductors, bus stand staff and passengers were vaccinated and sensitised about the importance of masks and social distancing.

The vaccination certificates of passengers and bus stand staffers were also checked.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2021.