Sindh loses 20 lives as 1,862 more COVID-19 cases emerge in three days

Twenty people lost their lives due to COVID-19 over the past three days across Sindh, mostly in Karachi, while 1,862 others tested positive for the novel coronavirus in 72 hours.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah pointed out in his daily statement on Tuesday that due to the Eidul Fitr holidays, fewer people were screened for COVID-19 across the province.

According to the breakdown of deaths due to the novel coronavirus and fresh cases over the past three days, 13 people died while 846 another tested positive on Sunday, two people died while 443 another tested positive on Monday and five people died while 573 another tested positive on Tuesday.

The chief executive said that 2,327 people were screened for COVID-19 on Tuesday. With the latest fatalities, Sindh’s death toll has reached 374, he added.

He said that 24.6 per cent of the people screened over the past 24 hours have been diagnosed with the disease. The government has tested 161,628 samples to date and 23,507 of them have resulted in positives cases, which constitutes 14.5 per cent of all the people screened, he added.

Shah said that 248 patients are in critical condition, of whom 49 have been put on ventilators. He added that 14,618 patients were under treatment: 12,931, or 88 per cent, in home isolation, 794, or five per cent, at isolation centres and 893, or six per cent, in hospitals.

“This shows that home isolation is being preferred by patients, who are taken care of by government doctors over the phone,” he said. He added that with 542 more patients cured in the past 24 hours, a total of 8,515 patients have recovered. “Our recovery percentage is 37 per cent.”

Giving a district-wise break up of Karachi’s fresh cases, the CM said that 467 of the 573 new cases belonged to the city: 135 to District East, 109 to District Central, 94 to District South, 77 to District Korangi, 31 to District Malir and 21 to District West.

As for other divisions of the province, he said Hyderabad has 24 cases, Shikarpur 12, Jacobabad 11, Kashmore five, Larkana four, Sukkur and Umerkot three each, Kambar, Khairpur and Dadu two each, and Sanghar one.

He once again urged the people of Sindh to stay home, voluntarily observe the restrictions imposed during the lockdown, and avoid shaking hands and crowding. “This is the only way to contain the coronavirus.”

The chief executive said that only 1,852 people were screened on Monday due to Eid holidays. “But 614 patients recovered and were discharged from health facilities. This is the first time that the number of patients cured in 24 hours is higher than that of new patients.”

He said that the highest ratio of screening versus positive cases since February 26 was observed on Sunday, when 3,547 tests resulted in the diagnosis of 846 people, which is 24 per cent of the total people screened. Most of the 13 deaths occurred at health facilities in Karachi, he added.