STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD Congregational prayers throughout Pakistan have been limited to a few people only as the federal and provincial governments ramp up efforts to enforce social distancing amid the spread of the novel coronavirus that has left nine dead and more than 1,200 infected. On Friday morning, the Punjab government followed the Sindh and Balochistan governments in issuing an advisory notifying mosques that prayers were to be limited to three to five people only, including the mosque administration. The order also applied to Friday prayers. “People should pray at home to avoid catching the epidemic. The Punjab government took the decision in light of the recommendations of the medical experts in this regard,” the advisory issued by the provincial government proclaimed. It must be noted that there are 1321 confirmed coronavirus case in Pakistan, according to the latest report released by the National Command and Control Center on coronavirus on Friday. Meanwhile, two doctors who were treating Covid-19 patients in Dera Ghazi Khan quarantine center tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. According to Punjab Secretary for Primary Healthcare Muhammad Usman, both doctors were treating patients in the DG Khan Isolation ward. Dr. Usama and Dr. Saba, detected with Covid-19 have been kept in an isolation ward and are undergoing treatment, said health secretary. He said that the condition of both doctors is out of danger. The national dashboard, maintained by the federal ministry of health, reported that Sindh province has been affected more due to the virus, where the number of cases stands at 440, Punjab 448, Balochistan 133, KP 180, Gilgit-Baltistan 91, Islamabad 27 and two cases were reported in Azad Kashmir. With the addition of 57 new cases of the Covid-19, with in short span of twenty four hours, the tally of those tested positive for Coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa surged to 180 on Friday. The new cases also include a Member of the KP assembly. Member Provincial Assembly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abdus Salam Afridi was tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf lawmaker has quarantined himself in his home. It has been learnt that a death from the pandemic was reported in his constituency earlier. On the other hand, an area in Charsadda’s Tehsil Tangi has been sealed by the administration after a patient, Feroz Shah, was tested positive for coronavirus. The houses of Feroz Shah and his thirty neighbours have been quarantined and the medical data of all individuals has been collected. The administration will take further action if any other person shows symptoms of the pandemic. The authorities will also provide food to 12 deserving families of the area until it is sealed. Twenty-nine new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, taking the provincial tally to 448, according to a spokesperson for the Punjab health department. Punjab now has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country, overtaking Sindh’s total of 440. Four people have died from the virus in the province so far, one in Rawalpindi and three in Lahore. Two coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospital in Balochistan after making a full recovery, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. He said the two patients tested negative for the virus after being treated at Quetta’s Sheikh Zayed Hospital. Another 16 people were tested positive in GilgitBaltistan as the region’s tally of coronavirus patients rose to 103 on Friday. “With three patients recovered and Dr Usama Riaz’s death, the tally now stands as 103,” said Adviser to CM on Information Shams Mir during a daily briefing at Gilgit Press Club on day five of the lockdown in the region. The adviser said results of 300 tests were pending at NIH, Islamabad and other hospitals.
