Corona death toll in Pakistan mounts to 117

ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR/ LAHORE/ KARACHI: The coronavirus death toll in Pakistan reached 117 on Wednesday evening, while confirmed infections have reached 6,300.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza stated in a televised briefing that the death toll is markedly below the April 15 prediction that placed mortalities at 216.

“However, there can be an increase in deaths, given that 44 patients are currently on life support,” he pointed out, hoping that they too add up to the league of over 1,500 patients who have achieved complete recovery.

Dr. Zafar said local transmission has become predominant as 54pc of the confirmed coronavirus cases are now indigenous. The SAPM officially confirmed 5,988 positive cases across Pakistan. The SAPM added that of the 16,387 people who are currently in quarantines, 3,047 (14 percent) are positive.

Dr. Zafar urged employers and contractors to download the social distancing guidelines available on the Ministry of Health website, and to implement the outlined precautions in their respective settings. “The government has opened up relatively low-risk industries. This should be seen as a conditional softening of the lockdown, wherein employers will beresponsible for the safety of their workers, and will be held accountable in case of failure to promote safe practices in their workplaces,” he stated. according to latest reports, out of total confirmed 6,300 cases, Sindh has reported 1,668 cases, Punjab 3,016, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 912, Balochistan 281, Islamabad Capital Territory 140, Gilgit-Baltistan 237 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 46 cases.

Out of total 117 deaths, KP has reported 42 deaths, Sindh 41, Balochistan two, Gilgit-Baltistan three, Punjab 28 and Islamabad Capital Territory has reported one death.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has reported four more deaths, taking the grim total to 42. A surge in the number of cases was also reported, taking the tally to 912.

With an addition of 13 more recoveries, so far 191 have recovered in the province. In Swabi, five members of the Tableeghi Jamaat belonging to foreign countries have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said on Wednesday.

The total number of the positive cases in the district has reached 15. Five patients have recovered while one person passed away three days back.

The first case in Swabi district was reported in Bada village, Gadoon Amazai, on March 26.

The officials said the total number of the Tableeghi Jamaat members was 43 who were quarantined at Masjid Al-Qasim, Tableeghi Markaz in Topi tehsil. The district administration deputed security personnel at the markaz to monitor their activities. Deputy Commissioner, Swabi, Shahid Mahmood said that the report was received from the National Institute of Health, Islamabad. He said that it showed that five members of the Tableeghi Jamaat had tested positive.

They have been shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Chota Lahor. In Bajaur, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached nine after one of the suspected patients reported positive for the coronavirus test in Khar tehsil of Bajaur district on Wednesday.

The result of a suspected patient identified as Shamraiz Khan, a resident of a residential colony near District Headquarters Hospital, Khar, was declared positive hence he was shifted to the isolation ward established for coronavirus infected patients.

The infected patient has recently returned to his home after spending some time in Tableeghi Jamaat in different areas.

Another COVID-19 patient died in Ali Baig area in Nowshera on Wednesday, raising the tally of causalities from the fatal viral infection to four since the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Eighty-six-year-old Safeer Khan of Ali Baig area in Nowshera district, was admitted to the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, in a serious condition.

According to Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan, District Health Officer Dr Gulman Shah and Corona Control Centre In-charge Dr Niaz, the Safeer Khan was suffering from fever and cough from the last several days.

The novel coronavirus has spread in jails in five districts of Punjab as at least 91 jail inmates have got infected with the virus so far in Punjab.

Out of 91 COVID-19 patients in prisons across Punjab, a total of 59 prisoners are infected in Camp Jail in Lahore, 14 in Sialkot, nine in DG Khan, seven in Gujranwala and two in Bhakkar.

On Wednesday, 71 new COVID-19 patients were confirmed from across Punjab, which brought the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus to 3,016. As no fatality was reported on Wednesday, the death toll due to coronavirus remained 28 in Punjab that included 12 from Lahore, seven from Rawalpindi, three from Multan, two from Rahim Yar Khan and one each from Bahawalpur, Jhelum, Faisalabad and Gujrat.

As per spokesperson of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, 12 COVID-19 patients are in a critical condition. More than 500 patients have so far recovered from coronavirus. They have been discharged after testing negative for the virus.

Out of total confirmed COVID-19 patients, 1,091 are preachers of Tableeghi Jamaat, 701 pilgrims who recently returned from Iran, 91 prisoners in five districts and 1,133 citizens who either had travel history or fell victim to local transmission.

Of the 1,091 confirmed COVID-19 preachers, 484 are at a quarantine centre at Raiwind, 105 in Multan, 61 in Bhakar, 52 in Muzaffargarh, 45 in Rahim Yar Khan, 41 in Jhelum, 37 in Vehari, 35 each in Hafizabad and Sargodha, 27 in Layyah, 19 in Sialkot, 17 in Mandi Bahauddin, 16 in Rawalpindi, 15 in Narowal, 13 in Bahawalnagar, 12 in Sheikhupura, 10 in Gujrat, nine in Rajanpur, eight in Faisalabad, seven each in Mianwali and Sahiwal, two each in Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala and Khushab.

Out of 701 confirmed patients from amongst pilgrims, 457 are at a quarantine centre in Multan, 221 in Dera Ghazi Khan and 23 in Faisalabad.

So far 1,133 citizens have been tested positive for the virus from across the province. These people either have a travel history or they got infected through local transmission. The highest number of cases has been reported from Lahore where 477 patients are under treatment at different centres.

As many as 139 patients are under treatment in Gujrat, 118 in Rawalpindi, 50 in Gujranwala, 42 in Rahim Yar Khan, 35 each in Vehari and Faisalabad, 33 in Jhelum, 31 in Sialkot, 23 in Multan, 19 in DG Khan, 17 in Nankana Sahib, 14 in Sargodha, 12 in Hafizabad, 11 in Mandi Bahauddin and Mianwali, 10 in Sheikhupura, nine in Kasur, eight each in Narowal and Chiniot, six in Bahawalpur, five in Bahawalnagar, four each in Chakwal and Khushab, three in Lodhran, two each in Toba Tek Singh and Khanewal and one each in Attock, Pakpattan, Layyah, Okara and Jhang.

As per the spokesperson, serious patients are under treatment at High Dependency Units and those with normal or mild symptoms are at quarantine centres and isolation wards of public sector hospitals. He urged people to stay at home, frequently wash hands and use hand sanitizer. He advised social distancing and adopting precautionary measures while attending sick family members.

Alarmed over growing number of ‘dead on arrival’ cases at hospitals, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said he was very concerned that several COVID-19 cases were not being reported and added that 150 new Coronavirus cases were detected in last 24 hours of whom 45 patients were critical. Shah went on to add that six more people lost their lives in the province including five in Karachi alone.

“This is why the government has extended lockdown by another 14 days which we were are going to tighten further to save people from the virus,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said while addressing a press conference here at the Sindh Assembly building. He was flanked by provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani, Nasir Shah, Imtiaz Shaikh, Mukesh Chawla and Advisor Murtaza Wahab. Giving a daily update on coronavirus, Shah said that during last 24 hours 1,523 new tests were conducted against which 150 new cases detected. The totals tests conducted so far come to 16,026 while the tally of the positives cases has risen to 1,668, he said.

Shah said that during last 24 hours six more people succumbed to the virus, the death toll till Wednesday morning has reached 41 which is 2.4 percent of the total patients. “Our death ratio is higher than the ratio of other various other countries of the world,” he said. Murad Ali Shah maintained that the most critical aspect of the virus was growing number of deaths. “We are counting only those deaths which tested positive but there are 15 unexplained deaths which have coronavirus-like symptoms,” he said and added if those deaths were counted the number would increase to 56. Regarding the 15 unexplained deaths, the chief minister said that their lung X rays showed "the same patches consistent which the lungs of the coronavirus patients’. “The medical experts, after examining their cases, have concluded that those deaths stemmed from coronavirus,” he said.

Talking about the total number of positive cases, CM Shah said that 748 are under home isolation, 58 at isolation centres and 261 in hospitals. The patient currently undergoing treatment are 1,067, he said. He added that 560 patients had recovered and on Wednesday 133 more were sent to their homes with a certificate of recovery. “Our patient recovery rate is 33.6 percent,” he said. He said that out of 122 people of Tableeghi Jamaat 110 have recovered and returned to the homes. He said some of Tableeghi Jamaat people were foreigners and their passports were at their Riwind Headquarters. He said that 5000 members of the Tableeghi Jamaat were sent into isolation and “we have decided to conduct their at least 1000 tests daily,” he said and added “we have also increased the number of tests.

He said that more cases (150) were surfacing as more tests (1,523) were being conducted. He added “the situation has worried me and made me more conscious and i strongly feel further tightening of the lockdown is imperative to save people from the infection.” If the lockdown was imposed 15 days earlier as he had suggested, the situation would have been different, the chief minister and added now the federal government has extended it for another 14 days.

He said that some union councils of Karachi's district East had a large number of Coronavirus positive cases, therefore the deputy commissioner had sealed 11 union councils causing unnecessary hue and cry. The Sindh Chief Minister announced ban on pillion riding, while exempting women but children would not be allowed. He said that on Tuesday two meetings were held with Federal Minister Asad Umar and another with prime minister during which all the provincial governments agreed to extend the lockdown further by 14 days, he said.

The chief minister said that he proposed the federal government not to open plumber, hairdresser, electrician, tailors shops but we could not develop consensus. Regarding the construction Industry, the chief minister said that the prime minister was of the view that after agriculture sector the construction sector has a large scale employment. Therefore, he wanted the sector to start operations. Shah said he proposed allowing manufacturing of cement, steel and such others after fulfilment of SOPs by the factory management. The chief minister said hat restaurants would be allowed home delivery services under a particular SOP. The shops of those who defy the SOP would be sealed. However, in some areas 'dhaba' type restaurants would be allowed to operate but dinning would not be allowed.

The chief minister said that he wanted the prime minister to announce SOPs for mosques. The prime minister in his address said that he would talk to Ulema of different school of thought before announcing the SOP. On Tuesday, he said some Ulema had announced to open mosques unilaterally. “We have not banned prayers in the mosques but an SOP was worked out in consultation with Ulema that there would a very limited Jamaat of four to five persons and that needs to continue,” he said. The holy month of Ramazan is also approaching, therefore he has constituted a committee of his cabinet members to develop a code of conduct for Taraveeh and Jamaat prayers in talk with Ulema and their meeting would start from today. Expressing his thanks to the Ulema for cooperating and guiding the government,” he regretted that some of the Ulema lost their lives, therefore we must be mindful of the looming threat of the lethal disease. He assured the Ulema that he would resolve all their issues.

The chief minister said that the industrialist were also supporting the government and their issues would be resolved on a priority basis. He said that an SOP was issued for factories, particularly those of the export sector who would provide buses to pick their staff. Each bus will only accommodate one third of their total capacity of passengers, he added. He said the Sindh government has released Rs1160 million for ration in two equal instalments of Rs580 million and the total amount was yet to be utilized. ‘We have distributed 250,000 ration bags and it was in progress,” he said. The chief minister said the utilised amount has been put up on the website of finance department for transparency. “We have complete addresses and CNIC numbers of the people whom the ration bags were handed over,” he said.

The Gilgit-Baltistan health department has reported three more recoveries, two from Astore and one from Nagar. Three more cases were also reported, taking the region's tally of infected to 237.