Pakistan tops 200,000 recovered coronavirus cases

KARACHI/LAHORE: The number of recovered coronavirus patients surpassed 200,000 mark as the confirmed infections reached 263,365 with the death toll rising to 5,565 on Sunday.

Of 263,365 cases, Sindh reported 112,118 cases, Punjab 89793, Balochistan 11,424, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 31,890, Gilgit Baltistan 1,796 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir 1,840. Meantime, 204,017 patients have successfully recovered so far and have been sent back home.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday held a special session of the coronavirus in Sindh, during which federal and provincial ministers — who have often been at odds in their respective virus responses — praised each other’s approach to stem the virus.

The session came as Pakistan’s new coronavirus cases dipped below 2,000 on Saturday to 1979 infections with 47 deaths. Total cases thus far are 261,917 and the death toll is 5,522, according to official figures.

The NCOC’s special session was chaired by federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in Karachi, flanked by NCOC National Coordinator Lt-Gen Hamood Uz Zaman Khan and the central team of the forum. Asad Umar said the purpose of holding special sessions in provinces was to consult on core issues with provincial governments and also acknowledge their efforts in the fight against Covid-19. The forum lauded the test and tracing mechanism of Sindh and also acknowledged that it had “tremendously” implemented the test, trace and quarantine strategy.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, while hosting the NCOC exclusive session welcomed the NCOC central team and said the role of the NCOC in coping with the pandemic was “significant” and sessions of the NCOC in provincial capitals would enhance coordination and prove to be helpful for provincial management in fighting the pandemic.

Shah said at the outset of coronavirus outbreak, the provincial governments were facing issues related to hospitals’ facilities to treat Covid-19, which were collectively resolved by the federal and provincial governments.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Saturday that 9,270 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 880 people, or 9.5 per cent of those who were screened, being diagnosed with COVID-19.

“This is good news. Our detection rate is decreasing,” said Shah. The provincial government has so far conducted 634,871 tests, which have resulted in 112,118 positive cases, which means that 18 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 has climbed to 1.8 per cent. He said the death rate needed to be brought down, so services at hospitals and isolation centres have been improved.

He also said that 18,761 patients are currently under treatment: 17,938 in self-isolation at home, 79 at isolation centres and 744 at hospitals, while 526 patients are in critical condition, of whom 72 are on life support.

He added that the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients has been increasing, which is evident from 3,280 more patients being cured overnight, raising the number of recovered patients to 91,383, which shows an 82 per cent recovery rate.

Shah said that of Sindh’s 880 fresh cases, 267 (or 30.3 per cent) have been reported in Karachi Division: 80 of the new patients belong to District East, 59 to District South, 51 to District Central, 37 to District Malir, 31 to District West and nine to District Korangi.

He added that Hyderabad has reported 67 new cases, Khairpur 42, Sanghar 37, Sukkur 31, Shaheed Benazirabad 28, Mirpurkhas and Sujawal 22 each, Ghotki 21, Naushehroferoze 20, Badin 15, Kambar and Kashmore 13 each, Larkana 12, Shikarpur 11, Jacobabad, Matiari and Thatta seven each, Jamshoro and Tando Mohammad Khan six each, and Umerkot two.

Presiding over a meeting at the CM office Lahore, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said by the grace of Allah Almighty, 65,009 corona patients have recovered out of 89,465 patients in Punjab so far. He said so far 634,246 tests have been conducted in Punjab. He revealed that 442 patients were infected whereas eight people died from corona during last 24 hours.

He said better results are coming because of smart lockdown.

Number of patients in hospitals has significantly decreased. The numbers of High Dependency Units in Punjab are 2,546 out of which 2,240 High Dependency Units are still vacated. Similarly, in Punjab there are 507 out of 600 in ICUs are vacated. While in Lahore out of 508 High Dependency Units 442 are still freed and out of 210 ICUs in Lahore 166 are empty.

Usman Buzdar said that Punjab government has provided all necessary resources for the treatment of corona patients. He appealed to the citizen to celebrate Eid with simplicity and take precautionary measures.

He said by following the principle of “Stay Home Remain Safe on Eid, citizens should protect themselves and others from corona. Peoples’ cooperation is the only way to cope with Covid-19. He said less interaction will help contain the spread of this disease.