PESHAWAR: At least five more persons, including an Afghan national, have died of Covid-19, two each at Lady Reading Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospitals, as the authorities are yet to decide about reopening of outpatients departments of hospitals in view of the rapid spread of virus, which has infected 697 sofarinthe province.

Thirty six persons have died of Covid19 so far. Four of the patients died in Peshawar and the fifth one, belonging to Mansehra, passsd away in Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad.

Khyber Teaching Hospital handed over the body of a 45-year-old Afghan national, who died late Saturday night, and informed the health authorities across the border in Afghanistan about the guidelines for his burial to prevent spread of the infection, officials said.

The doctors in the Peshawar-based hospitals said that there was a need to pursue the close contacts of the dead people for the survival of the others as cases continued to surge in the province.

With the registration of 45 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, the tally of province-wide patients reached 697. A daily situation report by health department said that 142 patients recoveredfrom the infection and sent home.

Peshawar, the capital of the province, registered135 cases, Mardan 109, Upper Dir 47, Buner 44, Kohat 43, Swat 36, Abbottabad 26, Mansehra 18 and Haripur reported 14 cases of coronavirus.

The report said that 142 patients recovered and 210 were still admitted to various hospitals and 203 of them were stable while seven were in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the medical teaching institutions, which have been asked by the health department to resume limited OPDs on the directives of Supreme Court of Pakistan, are yet to take decisions in view of the fast spreading infection.

A meeting of the management committee of Khyber Teaching Hospital on Sunday decided that opening of OPDs for general patients was neither in the interest of the patients nor health workers as allowing crowd would endangers lives instead of any good.

Meanwhile, the directorate general health services has lodged a report with police saying that three packets of N95 masks and 80 thermal guns have been stolen by unidentified people from its store.

These PPEs were supposed to be sent to the hospitals for the protection of the health workers involved in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

The price of one thermal gun is about Rs15,000 while the N-95 mask values at more than Rs2,000 in the market.

Provincial Doctors Association and Young Nurses Association have, meanwhile, expressed concerns over theCovid-19 infection to the doctors and other healthcare providers and demand immediate provision of the PPEs to the hospitals to ensure safety of the staff and effective care of the suspected and active patients affected by Covid-19.

They said that they would continue to serve the people in those trying times but requested that protection of staff was responsibility of the government.

Even senior doctors, including specialists were infected with Covid-19 and shortage of PPEs could cause scare among the healthcare providers, who were the frontline force at the moment, said a press release of PDA. It also askedforincreasing testing capacity to ensure timely investigation and ascertain real burden of the ailment and subsequent treatment.

Nisar Ahmad Khan adds from Mansehra: A coronavirus patient died here on Sunday evening.

The 67-year-old patient was hospitalised at AyubMedical Complex Hospital in Abbottabad the other day died in evening and his body was shifted to his native Ganda village.

The deceased was tested positive for Covid-19 and was kept in quarantine at Ayub Medical Complex Hospital in Abbottabad since then.

The doctors, who confirmed his death, told journalists that his samples were tested at Public Health Reference Laboratory in Peshawar and Covid-19 was detected in his body.

Mansehra has so far reported two deaths of Covid-19 patients. Provincial Disaster Management Authority has confirmed 18 covid-19 cases in the district.