Coronavirus: 141 die in a day

ISLAMABAD: As many as 141 persons lost their lives on Monday due to complications related to COVID-19 taking the total toll to 4,303. Wirth the addition of new cases the total number of cases in Pakistan is 209,159.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza said that Pakistan was fighting COVID-19 through a robust coordinated national response. He said that Pakistan was implementing smart lockdowns rather than a generalised lockdown as the Prime Minister was cognisant of the financial hardship for around 25 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

Currently 543 lockdowns were in place across Pakistan, he added. He said 35 SOPs had been developed and the public was being educated through a strong risk communication initiative. Strict action was being taken against those who did not adhere to the SOPs, he shared.

"We have ramped out our health system to cater to critical cases and done so with unprecedented speed. Meanwhile, 723 new cases were detected in Punjab on Monday taking total cases tally to 75,501. As many as 46 persons died from the deadly virus in a day as total 1,727 have died till date.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad AliShah said that coronavirus had hit new highs by claiming 74 more lives lifting the death toll to 1,343 while 1,539 new cases emerged when 8,464 samples were tested in the province.

In a statement issued here from the CM House, he said that overnight 74 more patients died lifting the death toll to 1,343. “This is the highest figure so far since the first death stemming from COVID-19 was reported on March 19,” he said and added that he was saddened to disclose the death rate had increased from 1.5 percent to 1.6 percent and expressed condolence with the bereaved families.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 13 deaths and 337 new coronavirus infections, bumping overall cases to 26,115 and death toll to 935. Meanwhile, the number of recovered patients from the novel virus stand at 12,626 in the province.

Balochistan recorded three deaths and 71 new infections, bumping the overall cases to 10,426 and death toll to 119. Gilgit-Baltistan reported 28 new infections from the novel coronavirus, bumping the overall cases to 1,470. The recovered patients from the novel virus have reached 1,117, while the death toll remains unchanged.