Corona cases soar to 15,738 in Pakistan

LAHORE/KARACHI/ MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday reported 8 more deaths from novel coronavirus as number of cases across the country reached 15,738 and 346 persons lost their lives, reported a private news channel.

According to details, 5,827 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 5695 in Sindh, 2,160 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 915 in Balochistan, 330 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 297 in Islamabad and 65 in Azad Kashmir while 3,425 patients have recovered so far.

While, 3,425 patients have so far recovered.

While Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that for the first time 404 new cases of coronavirus positive have been diagnosed and eight patients died leaving the death toll in three digits, 100. “This is a very serious situation because we are detecting more cases and taking more bodies though the 20.5 percent recovery ratio is encouraging but we have to save the life of our people.”

This he disclosed in his regular video message in which he unfolds the coronavirus situation in Sindh, said a spokesperson to the CM Sindh. He said that 404 new cases emerged when 3729 tests were conducted.“This is quite worrisome that out of 404 cases, 332 belong to Karachi,” he said and added “Karachi is on the increase in terms of new cases and deaths of the patients.”

The chief minister said that so far the government has conducted 51,790 tests against which the number of cases detected came to 5695. “The 404 new cases constitute 10.8 percent of 3729 tests conducted during the last 24 hours,” he said.

The chief minister said that 4,426 patients were under treatment, including 3,187 or 72 percent in home Isolation, 762 or 17 percent at isolation Centers and 477 or 11 percent at different hospitals. “Our 54 patients are in critical condition, of them 18 are on ventilator,” he disclosed.

Sharing the district-wise details, he said that South has 113 new cases, East 100, Central 39 Korangi 37, West 26 and Malir 17. “I want to request the people of Karachi to adopt precautionary measures, including wearing the masks, keeping at a distance from children and elderly people, avoid going out of home unnecessarily, otherwise results would be horrible,” he said.

The chief minister sharing the data of other districts said that 14 cases have been diagnosed as positive in Sukkur, 13 each in Khairpur and Larkana, seven each in Shaheed Benazirabad and Shikarpur. The chief minister said that the local spread in rural areas in also increasing which spoke loud of the failure of our people to observe WHO and experts SOPs.

The chief minister said that two flights from Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi have brought back 505 stranded Pakistan to Karachi. “They all were tested, as a result 69 of them were diagnosed as positive and 39 results are yet to come,” he disclosed.

He added out of 69 COVID-19 positive cases, 22 belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21 to Sindh, 19 Punjab, five Balochistan and two Azad Kashmir.

The chief minister said that the testing capacity of the lab operating in Sindh was being enhanced and a new lab at Larkana was being established. The chief minister said that some industrial units and online business have been allowed to operate but they would have to follow the SOP. “We have to secure ourselves and others also,” he said.

Meanwhile, with the addition of another positive case, the tally of Covid-19 patients in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has reached to 66 excluding 3 people from Sargodha who were under treatment in Kotli.

According to a news release issued by the health department, a total of 1,967 tests had been conducted in the region out of which 69 were found positive (66 AJK nationals and 3 from Sargodha), while results of 232 were awaited. While 37 patients have been discharged after recovery, including 6 from DHQ Rawalakot, 15 from DHQ Bhimber, one from DHQ Kotli, 12 from New City Hospital Mirpur, one from THQ Dhodial and 2 from DHQ Plundari, while 29 are under treatment in these hospitals.