No New Deaths in the Capital
Islamabad and Rawalpindi reported no new COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, staying the current death toll for the twin cities at 373. On Friday, July 3, 136 new cases were reported while 1,301 recovered; over half of all hospitalized virus patients in the twin cities discharged have been discharged, leaving 284 undergoing treatment in private and public hospitals in the region.
Peshawar Gets COVID-19 Hospital
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson Ajmal Wazir announced the establishment of a COVID-19 hospital in Peshawar’s Nishtarabad with an initial capacity of 58 beds, including 17 high dependency units and 5 intensive care units with attached oxygen facilities. Another 52 beds will be added to raise the capacity of the hospital to 110 beds in the second phase. Around 15,000 polymerase chain reaction testing kits to be supplied to and 105 specialized staff to be posted at the hospital.
Weekend Lockdown in Capital Extended
The deputy commissioner (DC) office in Islamabad issued a notification for the extension of complete lockdown on weekends in the capital territory. All non-essential services and businesses will remain closed on the weekends while business hours on weekdays have been extended by 2 hours.
Fewer Tests Keeping Rawalpindi Numbers Low
Only 26 new cases detected in Rawalpindi on Friday, July 7, as roughly 110 tests are being carried out daily in the city. District administration claims that the low daily testing rate is due to shortage of kits. The provincial government is planning to increase daily testing to 600 in due time.