Twenty-three more deaths due to COVID-19 and another 1,439 cases have been reported during the past 24 hours in Sindh, with the death toll due to the viral disease in the province reaching 526.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Tuesday that 5,454 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 1,439 people being diagnosed with COVID-19, which meant that 26.4 per cent of those screened were found to be infected.
The provincial government has so far conducted 192,546 tests, which have resulted in 31,086 positive cases, which means that 16.2 per cent of those screened have been found to be infected, he added.
The chief executive said that after the latest deaths, the percentage of the diagnosed people who have lost their fight with COVID-19 continues to stand at 1.7 per cent. He added that 358 patients are in critical condition, of whom 64 are on life support.
He said that 15,022 patients are currently under treatment: 13,813 in self-isolation at home, 111 at isolation centres and 1,098 at hospitals. He added that it is encouraging that 953 more people have recovered during the past 24 hours, increasing the number of cured patients to 15,538, which shows an almost 50 per cent recovery rate.
Shah said that out of the 1,439 fresh cases of Sindh, 1,035 belong to Karachi Division alone: 263 of the new patients belong to District Korangi, 242 to District East, 167 to District South, 166 to District Central, 139 to District Malir and 58 to District West.
“Local transmission in Karachi is on the rise, but even then we have taken the hard decision to ease off the lockdown, so the people will have to take more precautionary measures to keep themselves safe.”
He expressed concern that the virus is spreading like wildfire in the rural areas, saying that Larkana has reported 50 more cases, Hyderabad 47, Sukkur 40, Khairpur 33, Ghotki 27, Shaheed Benazirabad 17, Badin 15, Sanghar 13, Jamshoro nine, Qambar six, Sujawal and Shikarpur five each, and Tando Mohammad Khan, Umerkot and Matiari one each. He reiterated the importance of complying with the standard operating procedures devised by the government if the people of Sindh wish to defeat the pandemic.
Fishing ban lifted
In view of cyclones and the COVID-19 situation, the provincial government has decided to provide relief to the fishing community by lifting the ban on fishing this month, said Shah. He took the decision in a meeting with Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Qadir Patel who had called on him at the CM House.
Patel told the chief executive that the fishing community has suffered a lot in the past eight to 10 months due to cyclones and high tides, then the health emergency, and now the time has arrived of the annual two-month ban on fishing.
The government imposes a two-month ban in June and July on fishing for breeding, but the fishing community has been out of work for the past many months. In such a situation, the MNA pointed out, the community will be unable to survive.
The CM said he is well aware of the situation, so he will provide relief to the fishing community. He directed the fisheries secretary to issue a summary to lift the ban on fishing in June so that with the easing off of the lockdown, the community can resume working and making a living. Shah said he has always protected the community’s interests. “We will not abandon any segment of society, including the fishing community. My government will support them to steer them out of the present crisis.”