287 new coronavirus cases confirmed in Sindh, says CM Murad Ali Shah

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali said on Saturday that with the detection of 287 new cases of the coronavirus, the number of patients had risen to 4,232, while three more patients had died due to COVID-19 in Karachi during the last 24 hours, raising the death toll in Sindh to 78.

In his daily video message, he said that 2,599 tests were conducted against which 287 new cases were diagnosed as positive. “The number of total tests conducted so far comes to 38188 through which 3,945 cases have been detected,” he said.

Giving details of the 3,353 patients, Shah said that 2146 patients were under treatment in home isolation, 767 at isolation centres and 439 at hospitals. “At present, 30 patients are in critical conditions, of them 14 have been put on ventilators,” he disclosed.

He said that 30 coronavirus patients recovered on Saturday and the number of patients who had recovered so far was 802, which constituted 19 per cent of the total patients.

Karachi cases

The chief minister said cases were on the increase in Karachi. He added that in Central District 37 new cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed, 57 in East, 79 in South, 18 in West, eight in Malir and five in Korangi. “This shows that out of 287 new cases 199 have been detected in Karachi, and 88 in other districts,” he said.

Other districts

The chief minister said that the coronavirus had penetrated other districts of the province. He added that 17 cases had been diagnosed in Larkana, 13 in Hyderabad, 11 in Shikarpur and seven in Sukkur.

“This is a very serious situation and we will have to adopt precautionary measures as advised by WHO and local experts,” he said.

Tablighi Jamaat

Shah said that 5,102 members of the Tablighi Jamaat had been tested, and of them 765 had been diagnosed as positive while the results of four others were awaited.

As many as 158 patients of COVID-19 belong to Hyderabad, 65 to Shaheed Benazirabad, 76 to Sukkur, 10 to Jamshoro, 13 to Tando Mohammad Khan, 10 to Dadu, six to Tando Allahayar and the rest belong to other districts.

The chief minister in his message also said that the weather had turned scorching particularly in the rural areas of the province; therefore, everyone must keep himself hydrated by remaining at home.

He urged the people of Sindh to observe the lockdown and keep social distancing; otherwise, the government facilities would not be able to attend to the growing number of coronavirus patients.

The chief minister appreciated the services of doctors, paramedical staff, police, Rangers and revenue officials for working with COVID-19 suspected and confirmed patients and had had much exposure to the virus. “I know some of the doctors, paramedical staff, police, and revenue officials have been infected with the virus; therefore, they are under treatment,” he said and urged them to take their proper care. “Your life is important for us and your services are valuable; therefore, you must adopt the SOP before starting your services.”

Counselling service

Syed Murad Ali Shah launched a counselling and psycho-social support service during the COVID-19 emergency, and it could be reached on helpline 1093, web page COVIDPSS.PK and a community-based psycho-social support mobile app on android and IOS.

He performed the launching ceremony by dialing 109 and inquired about the services available on the helpline. The local government department has launched the service with the support of the health department, Unicef and the UNDP.

The ceremony was attended by Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Shah, Minister for Energy Imtiaz Shaikh, Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani, Adviser on Law Murtaza Wahab, Secretary Local Government Roshan Shaikh and others.

Minister for Local Government & Information Syed Nasir Shah, briefing the chief minister about the features of the counselling and psycho-social support service for people who are under trauma and depression due to the current coronavirus crisis, said the target groups would be coronavirus patients under isolation, people under quarantine and people who got depression and other psychological issues during the lockdown.

He said 100,000 affected children, women and men mainly through the online platform would be counselled.

The local government has 25 psychologists/psychiatrists and around 50 to 70 volunteer counselors, who include doctors, professors, motivators, trainers and celebrities from every walk of life. The local government minister told the chief minister that the online platform included a website and an android application for awareness. For referral mechanism, linkages with other services providers have been made.

The chief minister said that the service was most important during the COVID-19 emergency. “This situation has left adverse effects on human psyche; therefore, counselling by experts would be of great help,” he said.

The chief minister thanked Unicef and the UNDP for their support and cooperation. “We can steer the nation out of this COVID-19 quagmire by joining hands with each other,” he said.