Number of coronavirus cases increases rapidly in twin cities

The total number of coronavirus cases of confirmed Covid-19 patients in Islamabad reached 185, and in Rawalpindi 175 on Tuesday.

During the last few days, huge rush was witnessed in various markets after ban was lifted on various businesses.

After exempting some businesses from lockdown, people are now not taking the situation seriously and are not practicing social distancing.

Majority of coronavirus cases have been reported from Bhara Kahu, Tarlai, Lohi Bher, sectors G-8, G-10, I-10, F-10 and Shahzad Town.

Out of 185 patients, three are critical, three have died and 20 have so far recovered, an official said.

The country's tally of the COVID-19 infections has reached 9,216.

According to the official data, Punjab has 4,195 cases followed by Sindh 2,764, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,276, Balochistan 465, Gilgit-Baltistan 281, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 50. Till the filling of this report, 2,066 coronavirus patients have so far recovered, and 192 have died across the country.

The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration and the Punjab government imposed lockdown on March 23 in the wake of spread of the coronavirus to restrict people to their homes and also asked people not to come out of their homes without good reason, and only exempted grocery stores and pharmacies.

The government in the mid of this month exempted some other businesses including hardware, stationery and book shops, hairdressers, auto workshops, tyre puncture, spare parts shops, and tailor shops from lockdown, due to which people rushed to the markets but neither customers nor shopkeepers have adopted standard operating procedures (SOPs) for controlling the spread of the COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the ICT Administration has established 22 centres across the city for disbursement of payments under Prime Minister's Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme.

During the past six days, Rs90,936,000 have been disbursed among 7,578 persons (Rs12,000 each).

Verification of these persons is carried out by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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