408 COVID-19 cases emerge as Sindh conducts highest number of tests

Labs in Sindh conducted highest number of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests for the detection of coronavirus in 24 hours as 18,360 samples were tested, after which 408 people were diagnosed with COVID-19.

“We have conducted highest number of PCR tests for detecting COVID-19 in the province in last 24 hours. Around 18,360 tests were conducted by all the labs in Sindh, and of them, 408 people tested positive for the infectious disease,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily COVID-19 situation report on Wednesday.

He maintained that COVID-19 had claimed two more lives in Sindh during the last 24 hours, raising the death toll due to the infectious disease to 2,471 in the province.

With the new 408 COVID-19 cases in the province, the total number of COVID-19 cases have risen to 134,845, he said, adding that at the moment there were 3,410 active cases in the province.

According to the CM, currently 3,410 patients of COVID-19 are under treatment in Sindh, of whom 3,120 are in home isolation, five at isolation centres and 285 in different hospitals. The condition of 146 patients is stated to be critical, who include 17 who have been shifted onto ventilators. Shah explained that of the 408 new cases, 184 were detected from Karachi division, including 62 from South, 37 from East, 33 each from Central and Korangi, 12 from Malir and seven from West districts.

He added that Badin had 31 new cases, Larkana six, Ghotki four, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar, Shikarpur, Sujawal and Umerkot two each, and Dadu had one new case. The CM said only eight people had lost their lives in Sindh in March 2020, 109 in April, 385 in May, 904 in June, 817 in July, 186 in August and so far, 62 people had lost their lives due to the pandemic in the current month of September.