ISLAMABAD - Islamabad on Thursday recorded the highest daily COVID-19 case count with 1,131 new positive cases since the pandemic surfaced in the country in 2020.
According to capital’s District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeem Zia, a total of 7,360 tests were conducted in Islamabad last day which resulted in 1,131 positive cases with 15.37% positivity ratio.
The DHO stated that it is the highest ever COVID-19 positivity ratio in a single day since the start of pandemic in 2020.
He further said that the positivity ratio has jumped to 15.37 per cent from 2.99 per cent in 10 days, saying that 113 COVID-19 cases were reported in Islamabad on January 10. It is important to mention here that due to the spiking COVID-19 ratio in Islamabad, 26 educational institutes have been sealed by the authorities so far.
The educational institutes sealed by the authorities in Islamabad on Thursday include Riphah International University Islamabad Campus and Beaconhouse Potohar Campus Soan Garden Islamabad. Pakistan recorded 6,808 new COVID-19 cases last day which is the second-highest daily case count since the coronavirus pandemic surfaced in 2020.
Earlier, the highest daily toll was recorded on June 13, 2020 with 6,825 coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, the active cases in the country stand at 51,094 with 29,042 after five more people lost their lives. Despite the spiking ratio of COVID-19 omicron variant cases, people could be seen thronging markets in Islamabad. A majority of the people visiting shopping centres was not wearing face masks.
Mussarat, an elderly lady shopping at G-9 said, “I cannot wear a mask. It seems like I won’t be able to breathe. I know bazaars are crowded and corona is there, but shopping is also a necessity. Nothing will happen.”
Hania, a customer at a mart at E-11, said she had come to buy crockery. When asked if she knew about the highest daily COVID-19 count reported so far on Thursday, she said, “No. I have heard about gatherings being banned but shopping is a must.”
Farhan said, “My daily commute to and from office is approximately 12km for which I have to hire a cab now because travelling by public vans is not safe. My office management has still not adopted the work from home policy although I can manage my office work online.”
Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat said that the district administration was working closely with other concerned authorities to implement the SOPs completely. He said that indoor dining in hotels and restaurants, weddings, festivals and gatherings across the city will be banned from today (Friday), saying that the district administration was highlighting the hotspots and have imposed smart lockdown in many sectors and streets.
The DC maintained that their main focus was to get more and more people vaccinated in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 in city.