Gross violations of Covid-19 SOPs observed during three Eid days
Zubair Qureshi
The citizens of the federal capital during the three Eidul Azha days, which are also considered first, second and third days of Eid, indulged in gross disregard and violation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Covid-19 thus escalating the cases of coronavirus in the city.
During the three days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Islamabad’s picnic spots, parks and roads leading to tourist point Murree remained choked with traffic and even by the time of filing this report, traffic on the Murree Expressway and the old road both, could not be restored.
Similarly, Lakeview Park, Shahdara, Damn-e-Koh and Monal remained among the top priority list of the visitors during the three days and very few people or families were seen wearing facemasks or following other health precautions, like maintaining social distance or using hand sanitizers.
According to the District health officer (DHO) of Islamabad, Dr Zaeem Zia this is a dangerous trend and might catapult all the efforts of the district administration and the health authorities in checking the spread of Covid-19.
According to Dr Zia, the district health department conducted 1,174 tests during the last twenty-four hours after which 51 persons tested positive showing the Covid-19 positivity rate at 4.3 percent.
A day earlier on Friday, the federal capital saw the death of one patient and 51 new cases of the virus.
Officials of the capital administration said the death of a woman was reported in the age group of 70-79. However, her address was not known, they added.
The death toll from the Covid-19 reached 790, they said, adding that out of the total 500 were men and 290 women.
They said 232 deaths were reported in the age group of 60-69, followed by194 in 70-79, 137 in 50-59, 110 in 80-89, 59 in 40-49, 28 in 30-39, 23 in 90 and above, four in 20-29 and one each in 0-9 and 10-19.
The officials said 1,174 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours, which found the virus in 28 women and 23 men while the positivity rate was 4.34pc.
They said 13 cases were reported in the age group of 30-39, followed by 11 in 20-29, eight in 40-49, five each in 60-69 and 70-79, four in 50-59, three in 10-19 and two in 0-9.
