Covid-19 claims 12 lives in Punjab

Province records highest daily death toll in eight months.

LAHORE:

Punjab on Sunday recorded the highest death toll due to coronavirus in a day during the past eight months as 12 patients lost their lives in 24 hours.

The death toll due to coronavirus during the fifth wave of the pandemic is continuously increasing with at least 46 deaths confirmed in Punjab during the past week. According to health experts, a severe phase of the current wave of the pandemic has started and the Omicron strain of the virus is now proving to be dangerous with respect to the death rate. Beside the death rate, the highest number of coronavirus patients during the ongoing wave of coronavirus spread was also recorded in the province in the past week.

The fifth wave of Covid-19 is at its peak in Punjab with the official figures depicting an alarming situation in Punjab.

According to officials of the Punjab health department, the death toll of 12 confirmed on Sunday is the highest figure for the province during the past eight months. They said the ratio of patients testing positive for coronavirus in the province during the past week was also the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic.

“The death toll of last 24 hours has proven that the situation regarding coronavirus has aggravated to the dangerous levels experienced during the peak days of the previous waves of the pandemic and the health department should take it more seriously,” a senior official of the department said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

The province recorded four deaths due to coronavirus on January 24, followed by eight the next day and two on January 26. The daily death toll increased during the past four days with seven fatalities recorded on January 27, six on January 28 and seven on the following day.

However, the past 24 hours proved to be the most deadly in eight months with 12 deaths caused by the virus confirmed in various districts of Punjab, the official added. “The Punjab health department has already been urging the people to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised to keep them safe from coronavirus because of the fear of an increase in the death toll,” said the department’s spokesperson Sayed Hamad Raza.

“The death rate is increasing not just in Pakistan but the whole world and we had already taken a number of steps to tackle the situation. Our hospital infrastructure is exemplary as Punjab government has taken steps to improve the facilities. The only thing that we need is public cooperation regarding implementation of the SOPs,” the spokesman said.

He said the government had increased the safety restrictions in various sectors and also closed schools in the coronavirus-hit districts. “In the coming days, our policy of smart lockdown will continue,” the spokesman added.

Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch said, “We introduced special SOPs to decrease the number of coronavirus cases but in the prevailing situation the people should follow our guidelines because it is important for their safety.” He said the citizens should keep in mind that only vaccination and following the safety guidelines would be helpful in the situation when the death toll was increasing.

Along with the 12 deaths, the health department confirmed 2,212 new coronavirus patients in Punjab during the past 24 hours.

The number of active cases of the disease in government and private hospitals across Punjab also rose to 27,571.

In all, at least 13,148 people have died in Punjab due to coronavirus since its outbreak. The highest number of deaths has been recorded in Lahore and Rawalpindi. Residents of the provincial capital remain at the highest risk with 1,221 coronavirus patients confirmed on Sunday. At least 268 new patients of coronavirus were reported in Rawalpindi.

Read: "Covid-19 deaths in Punjab hit 8-month high"