DC claims 3,000 tests carried out in capital every day since Eid.

Byline: Aamir Yasin and Munawer Azeem

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI -- At least 227 more people were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Thursday and four people have died from the disease.

Capital administration officials said that Islamabad has reported comparatively fewer new cases in the last three days, with 307 new cases on Tuesday, 264 on Wednesday and 227 on Thursday. There have also been 13 deaths during this time.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the capital has reached 11,710. There have been 119 deaths and 5,839 recoveries, and the capital now has 5,752 active cases.

There are on average 3,000 Covid-19 tests carried out in Islamabad every day, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat said, including 60 tests from each of the city's sealed localities. There have been 3,000 tests a day since Eidul Fitr, he said, after the coronavirus began to spread rapidly among residents.

Mr Shafqaat said that lockdowns in 10 areas of the capital and a few other localities has led to a reduction in the spread of the virus and therefore in fewer daily cases. Standard operating procedures (SOP) to limit the spread are also being enforced, and so far the administration has imposed Rs177,300 in fines on individuals who are not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

Rawalpindi sees surge in new cases compared to previous days

Similarly, 96 restaurants and 422 shops have been sealed for SOP violations, as have 220 workshops and nine industrial units. Shopkeepers have been fined Rs1.2 million in total.

Administration officials said that 307 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 on June 23. In response, District Health Office teams traced 601 of their contacts, took samples from 370 0f them and sent those to the National Institute of Health (NIH). On June 24, when 264 new cases were confirmed, the District Health Office traced 543 of the patients' contacts and took samples from 240 of them to send to NIH.

Also on Thursday, four residents of the capital died of Covid-19. They were from Tarlai, Alipur and Bari Imam, while the address of one of the deceased is not known. Two of the patients died in hospitals in the capital and the other two were in districts outside the city.

There were 18 cases reported from F-7, 17 from Bahria Town, 16 from G-15, 15 from Bhara Kahu, 13 from E-7, 12 from F-8, 11 from Margalla Town, 10 each from Korang Town and F-11, eight each from G-6, F-5 and F-10, seven from E-11, six from the Defence Housing Authority, five each from G-5...