Two guards hurt in Islamabad vaccination centre melee

ISLAMABAD/SEHWAN: Two security guards were injured after citizens knocked down the doors of a mass coronavirus vaccination centre at the F-9 park in Islamabad, Geo News reported on Monday.

A sudden influx of people was seen at the centre vaccinating people who are scheduled to travel abroad. The main gate of the vaccination centre was knocked down and people entered forcefully. The administration had no choice but to shut down access points to the centre.

District Health Officer Zaeem Zia said an influx of people from other cities caused the sudden proliferation of people at the centre. He said they could not allow everyone in together because of Covid-19 protocols.

Meanwhile, as many as 20 more people succumbed to coronavirus and 914 new cases emerged during the last 24 hours in the country, according to the update released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday.

The positivity ratio of coronavirus cases in the country dropped to 2.05 per cent as 914 new cases emerged in the last 24 hours after conducting 44,496 tests. It takes the total tally of cases to 955,657 that returned positive after conducting 14,460,890 tests so far.

The number of active cases in the country reached 32,225 with 1,961 patients in critical condition. Around 910 more recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours as the number of recovered patients reached 901,201 with a 94.3 per cent recovery rate. The national tally of fatalities has

reached 22,231. Punjab reported 104 new cases taking the provincial tally to 345,900, while eight patients succumbed to the deadly virus during the last 24 hours. Sindh recorded 521 new cases taking the provincial tally to 336,076, while eight patients died of coronavirus.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 131 new cases taking the tally to 137,759, and four deaths. Balochistan recorded 61 cases taking the tally to 27,064, and no new death.

Islamabad recorded 31 new cases taking the tally to 82,596, with no new death. Azad Jammu and Kashmir recorded 31 new cases taking the tally to 20,243 with no new death. Gilgit-Baltistan recorded 35 new cases with the tally reaching 6,019 and no new death.

Separately, the Sindh Auqaf Department issued a notification regarding reopening of the shrines in the province after more than three months of Covid-19 induced closure.

The shrines of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and mystic poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai reopened under the standard operating procedures (SOPs) on Monday. Sindh had closed all shrines and dargahs across the province in March to stem the third wave of coronavirus.

The notification advised the devotees to strictly adhere to the SOPs that include mask wearing, social distancing, use of sanitisers and performing ablution at homes before visiting the shrines.