3,032 fresh cases, 81 more deaths: Corona positivity rate reaches 11.62pc in Punjab

LAHORE: The novel coronavirus continued to play wreak, as out of 26091 corona tests conducted during the last 24 hours, as many as 3032 fresh virus cases and 81 fatalities were reported across the province taking the provincial tally of cases to 282,469 and death toll to 7799.

The provincial metropolis is still in the grip of alarming situation as 1504 fresh cases and 38 deaths were reported during the last 24 hours. The occupancy ratio of ventilators, ICUs and HDUs in major hospitals of Lahore is heading towards dangerous level, as record rush of corona patients is seen in public sector hospitals in Lahore.

The overall positivity rate of the virus has reached to 11.62% in the province from previous 10.06%.

With the recovery of 3652 more virus patients, the number of recovered patients in the province has reached to 230032. On the other hand, as many as 5,685 coronavirus recoveries were reported across the country taking the tally of total recoveries to 682,290 showing recovery rate of 87 percent.

As per break-up of corona cases and deaths in major cities of the province, Lahore has so far reported 150041 cases and 3215 deaths, Rawalpindi 22500 cases and 1254 deaths, Faisalabad 17151 cases and 763 deaths, Multan 13242 cases and 496 deaths, Bahawalpur 6216 cases and 197 deaths, Gujranwala 7199 cases and 272 deaths, Gujrat 6509 cases and 107 deaths, Rahim Yar Khan 4050 cases and 165 deaths, Sargodha 6131 cases and 194 deaths, Sheikhupura 2925 cases and 82 deaths and Sialkot reported 6411 cases and 207 deaths.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid in a briefing said that people of 60 years or above who are disabled or unable to move will be given home services for Corona vaccination. She said, “Elderly citizens or disabled can get information from 1033. On average, around 27,000 elderly people are being vaccinated on daily basis.”

There is burden of corona patients in 200 public sector hospitals being run under the control of Specialized and Primary & Secondary Healthcare departments. In Punjab, 6685 beds are reserved in all government owned hospitals for corona patients, out of which over 4000 beds are unoccupied. Likewise, 1601 beds reserved in government hospitals of the provincial metropolis and about 700 beds are vacant so far.

In the wake of surge in corona pandemic, the Specialized Healthcare Department has arranged 3207 beds in Isolation wards of all government hospitals in the province, out of which, over 2200 beds are vacant.

On the other hand, American-Pakistani Oncologist and researcher, Dr Azra Raza, who is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University, spoke about her book at a virtual launch event with Dr Aasim Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres in Pakistan.

Her book, the First Cell, is now available in Pakistan and presents an alternative view to the traditional “slash-burn-poison” approach to treating cancer. Her narrative is uniquely interwoven with patient stories that bring forth a raw and personal aspect to cancer treatment since she records human anguish witnessed while treating her patients especially, her husband who succumbed to cancer.

The book brings cancer care to a human level and advocates for patients to be at the centre stage of conversations around cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Raza said that early detection is the key and we have reached the limits with the current screening tools. The natural progression would be to find better technology and find the first cell to eradicate cancer instead of chasing the last cell by pouring funding into cancer research that does not improve quality of life for advanced stage cancers, she said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021