Free Covid test for Lahorites announced; vaccination for above-50 begins

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The authorities have announced a free coronavirus test for the people of Lahore.

The announcement was made by Lahore Commissioner Captain (r) Muhammad Usman on Thursday. All the citizens have to do is to call on 1133 for the free coronavirus test.

The urgency reflected the gravity of the situation after the third Covid-19 wave intensified in Punjab.

According to the data shared by the spokesperson of Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), the number of coronavirus cases in the province has reached 223,181.

The P&SHD confirmed that 1,768 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Lahore, nine in Kasur, 31 in Sheikhupura, seven in Nankana Sahib, 150 in Rawalpindi, 14 in Attock, six in Jehlum, two in Chakwal, 56 in Gujranwala, 48 in Mandi Bahauddin, eight in Narowal, two in Hafizabad, 83 in Sialkot, 47 in Gujrat, 180 in Faisalabad, and 19 in Toba Tek Singh.

21 cases were reported in Chiniot, 11 in Jhang, 44 in Sargodha, one in Mianwali, 17 in Khushab, two in Bhakkar, 105 in Multan, 14 in Vehari, 16 in Khanewal, nine in Lodharan, two in Muzaffargarh, and seven in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Moreover, there were four new cases in Rajanpur, one in Layyah, 28 in Rahimyar Khan, 52 in Bahawalpur, 28 in Bahawalnagar, 30 in Okara, 13 in Pakpattan and 32 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Sahiwal district during the last 24 hours.

The Punjab health department conducted 3,838,133 tests for Covid-19 so far while 189,856 confirmed cases recovered altogether in the province.

The Punjab health department urged the masses to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for their protection and cover their faces with masks. People should wash their hands with soap several times a day to protect themselves from Covid-19. Contact 1033 immediately on symptoms of coronavirus, the healthcare department urged the citizens.

It is pertinent to mention here that more than 110 doctors of Lahore’s Services Hospital have contracted the virus.

Some of the affected medics are isolating themselves at their homes while the others at the hospital’s hostel. Over 10 of the victims are said to be in critical condition.

“In last 07 days almost above 100 doctors of SHL (Services Hospital Lahore) have been infected with Covid-19 fighting on the frontline, leading to acute shortage of working doctors,” the Young Doctors Association (YDA) president said in a letter.

In light of the third wave of the pandemic and shortage of doctors, the YDA demanded that the government recruit medical officers and Covid-19 consultants, ensure vaccination of all doctors of the hospital, and reduce out-patient department (OPD) visits.

Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan has opened registration for vaccination against the novel coronavirus for people of 50 years and above on Thursday.

The people belong to the above-50 age group can now get themselves be registered at 1166 to receive the code for vaccination. The person will be informed about the vaccination centre after he will get the registration code at 1166.

Dr Faisal Sultan, prime minister’s aide on health, on Wednesday said that Pakistan has so far administered over 800,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Federal Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), recently announced the opening of registration for the nationals aged 50 years and above to get registered for Covid-19 vaccination from March 30.

In a Twitter message, Asad reiterated that the registration for people aged 60 and above has already been open.

He asked nationals to encourage everybody who is 50 plus to go for registration for the vaccination.

The federal government continues the coronavirus vaccination drive in phases as the stocks of vaccines are arriving in Pakistan.

Moreover, in a bid to control rising cases of coronavirus in the federal capital, authorities have decided to observe ‘safe days’ for businesses.

Notification issued by the Office of District Magistrate in this regard states that as per guidelines of NCOC and after detailed discussions with traders of Islamabad, different safe days will be observed in the first parts of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

Safe days of different areas are mentioned below:

Friday and Saturday: G-9, G-13, Sitara Market, G-15, G-10, Furniture market Golra Road, DHA GT Road Barakahu, PWD, Pakistan Town, G-8, I&T Center, G-7, I-9, Ghori Town, Khanna Pull, Lehtrar Road, G-11, Aabpara Market, Tramri market, I-10

Thursday and Friday: Safa Mall, Centaurus Mall, Giga Mall and Amazon Mall.

Saturday and Sunday: Blue Area, F-10, Melody Market, E-11, F-8, I-8, F-11, F-6 and F-7

Saturday and Sunday: All areas/ market not mentioned earlier.

The notification, which will remain enforced till April 11, 2021, directs assistant commissioners (ACs)/sub-divisional magistrates and local police to enforce restriction order accordingly.

Pakistan has logged a sharp rise in coronavirus cases as another 98 patients have died of the novel virus during the past 24 hours while 4,974 new cases were recorded, showed the data released by the NCOC on Thursday morning.

As per the NCOC statistics, after the addition of 98 fatalities, the death toll has now surged to 14,530 whereas the number of total confirmed cases stood at 672,931, after adding the 4,974 new ones.

During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), 2,148 patients have recovered from the deadly virus while the number of total recoveries stood at 605,274. As of Thursday, the total count of active cases was recorded at 53,127 while the positivity rate stood at 9.93 per cent.

As many as 265,680 coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed in Sindh, 223,181 in Punjab, 88,099 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 58,557 in Islamabad, 19,576 in Balochistan, 12,805 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and 5,033 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

As many as 6,427 individuals have lost their lives to the pandemic in Punjab, 4,502 in Sindh, 2,363 in KP, 572 in Islamabad, 355 in AJK, 208 in Balochistan and 103 in GB.

A total of 50,055 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours (Wednesday) while 10,247,37 samples have so far been tested.

Punjab: Authorities reported 62 deaths due to the coronavirus, raising total casualties to 6,427. The province now has 223,181 confirmed cases; it reported 2,789 new infections after conducting 22,624 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.33 per cent. There were 1,294 new recoveries recorded, leaving 189,856 fully recovered, and 26,898 active cases of the virus.

Sindh: Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh have now climbed to 265,680; it reported 247 new infections on Thursday after conducting 9,634 tests, a positivity ratio of 2.56 per cent. The province reported 5 new deaths, raising the toll to 4,502, while its recoveries rose by 224 to 256,276. Overall, the province now has 4,902 active cases of the novel coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: During the past 24 hours (Wednesday), the provincial government recorded 1,044 new infections after conducting 8,672 tests, a positivity ratio of 12.04 per cent. Overall, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s confirmed cases have climbed to 88,099. It recorded 21 new deaths, raising the toll to 2,363, while its recoveries have risen by 408 to 76,640. There are currently 9,096 active cases of Covid-19 in the province.

Balochistan: The province raised its confirmed cases to 19,576 with 19 new infections after conducting 367 tests, a positivity ratio of 5.2 per cent. There was 1 death and 16 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 208 fatalities and 19,106 fully recovered. There are now 262 active cases of Covid-19 in the province.

Islamabad: The federal capital raised its confirmed coronavirus cases by 724 to 58,557 after conducting 7,564 tests; a positivity ratio of 9.57 per cent. There were 4 deaths and 126 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 572 casualties; 47,584 recovered; and 10,401 active cases.

Gilgit-Baltistan: GB reported nine new cases of the novel coronavirus after conducting 312 tests; it now has 5,033 confirmed cases. The region reported no new deaths or recoveries, leaving 103 fatalities and 4,867 fully recovered people. There are currently 63 active cases of Covid-19 in the region.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir: In AJK, confirmed cases rose by 142 to 12,805 after conducting 882 tests, a positivity ratio of 16.09 per cent. There were 3 deaths and 80 recoveries in the past 24 hours, leaving 355 fatalities and 10,945 fully recovered. It now has 1,505 active cases of Covid-19.