NCOC identifies 92 hotspots comprising 40% of all active coronavirus cases

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Sunday said that with the use of technology, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has thus far identified 92 coronavirus hotspots in 20 cities, which cover 40% of all active cases.

Speaking to the media, Umar said that a lockdown in these areas would affect only 3% of the country's total population.

He said relevant information regarding these areas, which are the worst hit by the pandemic, had been disseminated to the respective provinces.

"A smart lockdown in these hotspots can stop the spread of the pandemic," he said, adding: "Following the SOPs (standard operating procedures) is essential to prevent the spread of coronavirus."

The minister said at least 189 oxygen beds were being provided to medical facilities in Islamabad and that there would be an addition of 2,100 oxygen beds by the end of July.

These oxygen beds would be given to the Polyclinic Hospital, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Hospital, he said.

Cases spike

The country witnessed a spike in infections and deaths in the past week, with a record 6,825 new cases reported on June 13 and 153 deaths recorded on June 19 — both statistics representing the highest jump in single-day figures since the first case was reported on February 26.

Deaths have consistently stood above a 100 for the past six days. According to the government's COVID-19 portal, more than 119 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. With this, the grim total breached 3,500.

Meanwhile, the number of cases rose by 4,951 to 176,617, according to the website. There are currently more than 105,000 active infections while more than 67,000 have recovered so far.

Sindh is the worst affected province with 67,353 cases, nearly a third of which come (20,192) from Karachi alone.

Punjab comes in at second place with 65,739 infections, with the provincial capital, again, reporting the most number of cases at 11,463.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 21,444 cases of which Peshawar has a bit more than 2,100.

Balochistan has reported 9,328 infections with Quetta bearing the brunt with at least one-third of the cases at 3,365.

Islamabad Capital Territories have 10,662, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,278 and Azad Kashmir 813 confirmed infections.

'Take care of your elders'

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza asked people to take special care of elders in their families as the country faces an increasing number of deaths and infections.

Briefing the media in Islamabad today, he urged the people to strictly observe safety guidelines such as wearing face masks, observing social distancing, washing hands frequently, and above all, staying indoors to stay safe from COVID-19.

The premier's aide said so far 72% of all deaths from the virus occurred in individuals aged over 50.

He cautioned against the use of public transport and going to crowded places.

Dr Mirza reminded people that the Ministry of National Health Services has issued special guidelines on covid.gov.pk with a view to protecting senior citizens from the deadly pandemic.