LAHORE: There is no let up in the spread of coronavirus, as out of 19,445 Covid-19 tests conducted during the last 24 hours across Punjab, as many as 2,190 fresh virus cases and 26 more fatalities were reported in the province taking the provincial tally of cases to 290,788 and death toll to 7,990.
The positivity rate of the virus has reached to 11.26 percent. With the recovery of 2015 more virus patients, the number of recovered patients in the province has reached to 235,669. On the other hand, as many as 4,234 coronavirus recoveries were reported across the country during the last 24 hours taking the tally of total recoveries to 694,046 with 4,862 virus patients are in critical condition.
In Lahore, 1,275 fresh Covid-19 cases and four deaths were reported during the last 24 hours. Out of 250 ventilators allocated in Lahore public sector hospitals, around 210 are occupied while remaining ventilators are still vacant, sources said, adding: “The health authorities had arranged 708 ventilators for corona patients in all hospitals of the provincial government, of which about 445 ventilators are under use while remaining are unoccupied.”
As per data, the Covid death toll in Punjab reached 7,990 after 26 more patients succumbed to the virus during the last 24 hours. Most deaths were reported from Lahore (05), Rawalpindi (11), Gujranwala (3) and Sargodha (1). As per break up of corona cases and deaths in major cities of the province, Lahore has so far reported 154,196 cases and 3,291 deaths, Rawalpindi 22,836 cases and 1,285 deaths, Faisalabad 17,738 cases and 788 deaths, Multan 13,717 cases and 513 deaths, Bahawalpur 6,387 cases and 201 deaths, Gujranwala 7,293 cases and 282 deaths, Gujrat 6,597 cases and 107 deaths, Rahim Yar Khan 4,231 cases and 169 deaths, Sargodha 6,366 cases and 199 deaths, Sheikhupura 3,053 cases and 85 deaths, D G Khan 2846 cases and 77 deaths and Sialkot reported 6,486 cases and 210 deaths.
Expressing concern over the dearth of medical oxygen in the country, Opposition leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif suggested that all stakeholders should devise an emergency contingency plan to avoid an India-like oxygen crisis situation.
He said emphasis should be put on adopting an effective strategy to fight coronavirus variants and their lethal effects on the population. He stated that the government could study and take advantage from his dengue control model to tackle Covid-19 pandemic.
Shehbaz said the government should accelerate the vaccine rollout and also seek the private sector’s help in this regard. He said the only effective method to eradicate this pandemic is the inoculation of more and more people.
“It was criminal negligence on the part of the government that it failed to accumulate enough vaccine,” he said, adding: “The government should keep in view the ground realities and statistics while devising a Covid policy and it should include all the four provincial governments, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan governments in consultation process.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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