Sindh records three COVID-19 deaths, 864 new cases

Although only three deaths occurred in Sindh due to the novel coronavirus between Sunday and Monday, the number of new cases of the viral disease remained high as usual with 864 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the province, including 733 in Karachi alone.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said this in a statement issued on Monday. “Three people, including two women and a male, have unfortunately lost their lives due to coronavirus during the last 24 hours but 864 new cases of COVID-19 have emerged in the province. They include 733 new cases in Karachi alone.”

The CM said Sindh was much ahead of other provinces in conducting COVID-19 tests and its laboratories were working at a 77 per cent capacity. “We have 19 laboratories to test coronavirus samples and they have the capacity to test 6,550 samples a day. Now, they are operating at 77 per cent of their capacity,” Shah said, adding that a coronavirus testing lab was also being established in Larkana.

He said the 864 new cases of coronavirus were detected after 4,679 samples were tested. He added that so far 127,573 samples had been tested which diagnosed 17,241 cases that constituted 13.5 per cent of the total tests.

According to the CM, after the death of three more patients, the death toll of COVID-19 in Sindh had reached 280 which was 1.6 per cent of the total patients. At present, 12,472 patients are under treatment, of whom 11,095 or 89 per cent are in home isolation, 815 or six per cent are at the isolation centres and 562 or five per cent at hospitals, the CM explained. He added that 136 patients were in a critical state, including 29 who had been put on ventilators.

He said 280 more patients had recovered and discharged to lead normal lives but under some SOPs and precautions. “We have 4,489 patients who have recovered and returned to their homes which constitutes 26 per cent of the total patients,” Shah stated, adding that “the recovery ratio in the province is static at 26 per cent and we are trying to improve it further.”

Regarding other districts of Sindh, the CM said Ghotki had recorded 31 new cases, Hyderabad 30, Larkana 21, Sukkur 17, Kamber-Shahdadkot seven, Kashmore-Kandhkot five, and Matiari and Naushehro Feroz two cases each. Meanwhile, one new case each was diagnosed in Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur and Jamshoro districts.