The number of novel coronavirus cases has been increasing in the capital city of Pakistan for the past four to five days.

This is a concerning development for the Islamabad administration especially amid the preparations for the opening of schools and colleges from 15th September. The authorities had successfully brought down the number of new cases and had been maintaining it for the past several weeks.

But this week, the cases have been increasing consistently. Since Monday the new COVID-19 cases have more than doubled. On September 7th (Monday), 12 cases were reported. In the last 24 hours, the new coronavirus cases have jumped to 30.

Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat took to Twitter yesterday to show his concerns regarding the recent spike in viral cases and asked the public to follow SOPs and avoid social gatherings. He tweeted:

Covid patients are on the rise in Islamabad. Public gatherings will be discouraged. Masks and Physical Distancing will be enforced. Everyone is requested to please cooperate. Experts say weather change is having adverse effects on covid control.

As of today, these are the latest COVID-19 statistics of Islamabad as provided by the federal government website:

Confirmed Cases: 15,862

Deaths: 178

Recoveries: 15,296

Active cases: 388

Cases reported in the last 24 hours: 30

Deaths reported in the last 24 hours: 1