Spike in Covid-19 cases: Special SOPs issued for various sectors in Punjab

LAHORE: Punjab Health department has issued special SOPs for various sectors in view of the growing Corona cases across the province. A record number of vaccinations are being administered on daily basis in Punjab. According to the secretary primary and secondary health care Sara Aslam there are total 662 vaccination centers operational in Punjab and vaccination campaign is successfully underway in the province.

Sara Aslam said that during the last 24 hours, 1289 cases are reported across the province. So far, the total number of cases has reached 379575. Besides, 344847 patients have fully recovered in the whole province, bringing the total number of active cases to 23203. In recent 24 hours, 8 deaths are recorded in Lahore whereas 22 deaths have been reported in Punjab, bringing the total 11,525 number of deaths. During the last 24 hours, 20,220 tests are conducted making a total of 6,598,716 tests till date.

During last 24 hours 658 cases are reported in Lahore, 163 in Rawalpindi, 55 in Multan, 52 in Gujanwala, 48 in Faisalabad, 44 in Sialkot, 31 in Sargodha, 29 in Bahawalpur, 25 in Rahim Yar Khan, 19 in Mainwali, 18 in Sheikhpura, 15 in Toba tek Singh and 13 cases are reported in Okara, 10 cases are reported in Muzaffargharh, 10 in Khanewal, 8 in Gujrat, 8 in Vehari, 7 in Pakpattan. Respectively 5 cases are reported each in Bhawalnagar, Kasur Lodharan and Rajanpur, whereas respectively 4 cases are reported in Chakwal, Chiniot, Jhang and Nankana Sahib, 3 cases in Dera Ghazi Khan, whereas respectively 2 cases are reported each in Bhakar, Hafizabad and Narowal.

Yesterday, the overall positivety rate of coronavirus was recorded at 6.4% in all the cities across the province. The provincial capital Lahore recorded a positive rate of 10.9%, 7.9% in Rawalpindi, 2.3% in Faisalabad, 7.2% in Multan and 8.7% in Bahawalpur.

Secretary Primary and Secondary Health Sara Aslam said, "Frequently increase in coronavirus case in Punjab is a matter of concern. In such epidemic condition, vaccination is the only and effective treatment against corona," she added, "A large number of citizens are increasingly participating in the vaccination campaign - there is no shortage of vaccinations anywhere in the province. There is ample stock of vaccines at all centers while more vaccines have been ordered to meet the needs. Citizens are urged to immediately vaccinate over the age of 18 and ensure implementation of SOPs so that we can return to normal life."

Meanwhile, Secretary Health Sara Aslam reviewed the current situation of Dengue in the whole province and directed the Department to intensify the dengue prevention activities across the Punjab. In this regard, she appealed people to take special care of cleanliness and no garbage should be thrown in open places. She said that Monsoon rains has been started, therefore, precautionary measures against Dengue are very important. Citizens should be more responsible in preventing Dengue during monsoon; especially rainwater should not be accumulated in residential areas.

Sara Aslam said that during the last 24 hours, only one new case of Dengue has been reported in Punjab province. Currently one confirmed patient is under treatment in district headquarter hospital Rawalpindi out of 3 admitted patients. During this year total 80 confirmed cases of dengue have been reported from all over Punjab and out of confirmed patients, 38 patients have been reported from Lahore. While 3 patients are under treatment across the Punjab, out of which 2 are admitted in the hospitals of Lahore. In last 24 hours, 85,555 outdoor locations were checked across the Punjab while 398,131 indoor locations were checked, while larvae were destroyed from 1,589 locations. In Lahore 10,042 outdoor places were checked for dengue larvae, 68,524 indoor locations were checked and 1,130 positive containers were destroyed.

In this regard, Secretary Sarah Aslam said that precautionary measures against dengue should also be taken besides taking precautionary measures against coronavirus epidemic.

She further added that do not allow the storage of water at indoor and outdoor places; as hygiene can prevent dengue mosquito breeding. Be a responsible citizen by keep your surroundings neat and clean. The public is requested to extend full cooperation to the health department teams if they come to your home or business centers for the checking of dengue larvae, as dengue can be very fatal and it is a very dangerous fever which can cause death.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021