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Thursday March 28, 2024

As 38 more die, Sindh’s COVID-19 death toll hits 465

By Our Correspondent
May 31, 2020

Thirty-eight more people lost their lives in the province in a single day due to COVID-19, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily message on Saturday.

“We have lost 38 more patients during the past 24 hours and 1,247 new cases have emerged, while the death toll has reached 465 and the patients’ tally has risen to 13,623,” he said.

“The situation is going from bad to worse, which can be assessed from the fact that during the past two days, we have picked up 69 bodies. This is quite painful and unbearable for the aggrieved families.”

According to the updated figures of the novel coronavirus infections, 35 people, including 12 women, lost their lives in Karachi alone between Friday and Saturday, while the number of fresh cases in the city during this period reached 1,034.

Earlier, giving the details of the novel coronavirus infections’ situation, Shah said that 5,481 tests were conducted, against which 1,247 cases were detected. “This shows a 23 per cent result, which is higher than various countries,” he pointed out.

He said that 176,703 tests have been conducted since February 26 and they have produced 27,360 cases (15.5 per cent of the total people screened).

Sharing the details of the mortality rate, the chief executive said that after 38 more patients died, the mortality rate increased from 1.6 per cent to 1.7 per cent.

He said that the death toll of COVID-19 has reached 465. “I am sorry to say that 310 patients are in critical condition, while 68 of them have been put on life support.”

Shah said that 13,623 patients are currently under treatment. “Our home isolation experience is going well, and presently, 12,565 patients are being treated in self-isolation at home.”

He said 127 are at isolation centres and 931 at hospitals. “We are expanding our facilities by establishing two infectious diseases hospitals: one at Nipa and the other on the opposite side of the University of Karachi.”

The CM said that work on their finishing and on the installation of necessary equipment is going on round the clock. He said that water connections to both the hospitals have been provided and now the K-Electric is installing a separate pole-mounted transformer for them. Shah said that 522 patients have recovered and returned to their normal lives. He added that the number of patients recovered so far has reached 13,272, which constitutes a 48.5 per cent recovery ratio. “The situation is a little worrisome that 522 patients have recovered but another 1,247 have tested positive, which means there is a wide difference between admission and discharge. The health system is coming under pressure.”

The CM said that out of the 1,247 fresh cases, 923 belonged to Karachi Division alone: 215 to District Korangi, 213 to District East, 183 to District Central, 180 to District South, 69 to District West and 63 to District Malir.

As for other divisions of the province, he said Ghotki has 29 cases, Hyderabad 24, Larkana 23, Jacobabad 22, Sukkur 21, Shikarpur 20, Jamshoro 14, Shaheed Benazirabad eight, Khairpur seven, Mirpurkhas five, Dadu and Kashmore four each, and Badin and Thatta three each.

He urged the people to observe social distancing and wear masks while going out of the house. He stressed that without complying with the standard operating procedures, we will be unable to overcome the health emergency.

Plane crash update

Giving the details of the DNA tests conducted of the 97 passengers who had died in the plane crash on May 22, Shah said that so far, 68 bodies had been identified and handed over to their heirs.

He said that at present, 10 bodies were at the Chhipa mortuary and 19 at the Edhi morgue. “We have identified 29 bodies through DNA, and one DNA is yet to be matched.”