COVID-19 spread declining in Sindh, says CM Murad Ali Shah

By Our Correspondent
July 16, 2020

As many as 25 more people have lost their lives in Sindh due to COVID-19 during last 24, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday adding that the death toll due to the contagious disease in the province had reached 1,888.

Advertisement

“We have lost 25 more lives due to COVID-19 overnight in Sindh while 1,116 are still under treatment at various hospitals in the province. The condition of 763 COVID-19 patients is critical, of whom 106 are on life support,” Shah said in his daily report on the pandemic situation in Sindh.

He maintained that the rate of COVID-19 spread had started to decline in Sindh as only 1,140 people had so far been tested positive for the viral disease in the province during the last 24 hours. He added that 11,060 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours in the province.

The CM said that for the first time 4,872 patients had recovered overnight, raising the tally of patients recovered so far to 70,292 that constituted 65 per cent of the total patients. He said 25 more patients had died lifting the death toll to 1,888 that came to be 1.7 per cent. He added that 11,060 samples were tested that detected 1,140 cases of coronavirus that constituted a 10 per cent detection rate.

So far 604,728 samples had been tested all over Sindh against which 108,913 cases were diagnosed, he said and added the overall detection rate came to 18 per cent. Currently, 36,733 patients are under treatment, of whom 35,530 are in home isolation, 87 at the isolation centres and 1,116 at different hospitals. The condition of 763 patients is stated to be critical, of them 106 have been shifted onto ventilators, he said.

Shah explained that of the 1,140 new cases, 522 were detected from Karachi. They included 173 from East, 134 from South, 88 from Korangi, 55 from Central, 39 from Malir and 33 from West districts.

He added that Hyderabad had 56 new cases, Tando Allahyar 36, Khairpur 35, Thatta 29, Naushehro Feroz 27, Larkana 25, Jamshoro 25, Shaheed Benazirabad 23, Sanghar 22, Sukkur 22, Shikarpur 20, Badin 18, Jacobabad 15, TM Khan 13, Dadu 12, Umerkot 12, Sujawal and Mirpurkhas 11, Matiari seven, Kamber-Shahdadkot and Ghotki four each and Kashmore had two new cases.

The CM urged the people to follow the SOPs, wear masks while going out and keep washing and sanitising hands and observe social distancing in day-to-day life.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho told the CM that the coronavirus impact was on the decline but this did not mean that the pandemic was over. At this the CM directed the health department to intensify testing in hot spot areas. “At least one person from each house must be tested in the areas where selective lockdown is imposed.”

The CM was told that the tests in rural areas had been enhanced due to which the detection rate had increased. Shah, through the chief secretary, directed the PDMA to start an SMS service to advise people of Sindh to get themselves tested if they felt any of the coronavirus symptoms.

Advertisement