1191 fresh cases, 16 fatalities: Coronavirus positivity rate drops to 5.19pc in Punjab

LAHORE: The positivity rate of coronavirus in the province has declined to 5.19%, as out of 22,916 Covid-19 tests conducted during the last 24 hours, as many as 1191 fresh virus cases and 16 fatalities were reported across the Punjab taking the provincial tally of cases to 186,659 and death toll to 5768.

With the recovery of 943 more virus patients, the number of recovered patients in the province has reached to 170,695. On the other hand, 1,307 recoveries were reported across the country in the past

24 hours taking the total number of recoveries in the country to 571,878.

As per breakup of corona cases and deaths in major cities of the province, Lahore has so far reported 96755 cases and 2325 deaths, Rawalpindi 15411 cases and 921 deaths, Faisalabad 11073 cases and 554 deaths, Multan 9743 cases and 398 deaths, D G Khan 2355 cases and 64 deaths, Gujranwala 5104 cases and 145 deaths, Gujrat 5210 cases and 89 deaths, Rahim Yar Khan 2699 cases and 140 deaths, Sialkot 4110 cases and 171 deaths and Sargodha reported 3556 cases and 152 deaths.

On the other hand, smart lockdown has been imposed in different cities of Punjab, including Lahore, Gujrat, Rahim Yar Khan and Rawalpindi.

Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas announced in a tweet that all public and private schools in eight cities of Punjab including Lahore have been allowed to take examinations till March 19.

He said all private and government schools in eight cities of Punjab will be closed down after March 19, due to surge in coronavirus cases. While allowing the schools to conduct examinations, the minister clarified that any school in violation of the policy would be sealed after Friday. He added that the permission has been given only to schools in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sargodha.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid on Monday said the government has increased the number of tests of Covid-19.

Terming the new wave of virus as deadly for individuals over 55 years of age, she said coronavirus vaccine has been administered to 116,000 frontline health workers so far and further 44 million doses will arrive soon. She said the current variant of coronavirus resembles 70% to the United Kingdom.

Moreover, talking to a delegation comprising students of various educational institutions led by PTI’s legislator Uzma Kaardar, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar expressed concern over surge in coronavirus cases and said the new wave is more dangerous. “We must combat it together by following the SOPs because negligence in this regard will aggravate virus resurgence,” he said.

The Governor also said that those involved in the crime of early marriage of girls do not deserve any mercy and strict action will be taken against them according to the law. He added that the Constitution of Pakistan is the guarantor of women’s rights.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021