44 streets quarantined, 1,700 booked in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: As many as 44 streets have been sealed in the provincial capital while over 1700 people have been booked for violation of lockdown after increase in positive cases of Covid-19 in the city.

“A special control-room has been set up to keep a check on the sealed places as well as people violating the lockdown,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Peshawar Zahoor Babar Afridi told reporters.

The official said that over 1700 people have been booked under various sections of law for violation of the lockdown in the provincial metropolis while other actions have been taken against over 3000 persons.

The SSP said an awareness campaign is also being carried out to educate the people about how to stay safe from corona. He added meetings have been held with religious scholars so they can convince people on staying home to prevent the spread of the virus.

The traffic police are separately busy in action against public transport and has impounded hundreds of vehicles. An increase had been witnessed in cases of coronavirus as well as deaths due to COVID-19 in the last few days. The official data days that 50 people have lost lives to Covid-19 in KP while the number of positive cases has reached 1077. The ratio of deaths due to coronavirus is 4.5 per cent in the province, higher than other provinces and countries.

The ratio of deaths of the corona patients is higher in Peshawar. A total 292 confirmed cases have so far been reported from Peshawar while the number of patients died in the city is 22, which makes an alarming 7.5 per cent of the positive cases. Chitral, Lower and Upper Kohistan, Battagram and Kolai-Palas are the districts where no confirmed case has been reported so far.

Teams of the district administration led by deputy commissioner Mohammad Ali Asghar visited various parts of the provincial capital to inspect the lock down as well as the quarantined streets. They have been trying to ensure lock down and social distancing at the otherwise busy parts of the city.

Many fear the number of positive cases in Peshawar would be higher if more people, especially those asymptomatic, could be tested by increasing the number of tests per day.

Concerns have increased over the last few days after relaxation in the lock down since more people are now seen in markets and in streets without taking care of social distancing or wearing masks and applying sanitizers.

The situation is relatively better in main city, Saddar, University Road, Hayatabad. However, majority of the people in the rural areas and suburbs are not taking care of the principles of social distancing due to lack of awareness that can result in spread of the virus. The authorities have also set up quarantine center for those who are entering Pakistan via Torkham border so they cannot become a cause of spreading the virus among the locals.