Three more die from COVID-19 in Sindh as 267 new cases emerge

Karachi : COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Sindh during last 24 hours, raising the death toll due to the viral disease in the province to 2,520, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Saturday in his daily statement on the pandemic situation in Sindh.

He added that another 267 people had tested positive for the coronavirus infection during 24 hours. The new patients were diagnosed after 9,918 tests were conducted.

New COVID-19 cases and deaths are constantly on the rise since the last week of September. During the first three days of the current month, 21 people lost their lives in Sindh, mostly in Karachi where dozens of people are battling for life at health facilities after contracting the COVID-19 infection.

Shah explained that so far 1,397,676 samples had been tested in Sindh, against which 138,050 cases were diagnosed.

According to the CM, the mortality rate of COVID-19 in Sindh was 1.8 per cent. He said 81 more patients of COVID-19 had recovered in Sindh during 24 hours, raising the number of cured patients to 130,811, which constituted a 95 per cent recovery rate.

Shah said there were 4,719 patients of COVID-19 in Sindh currently, of whom 4,440 were in home isolation, seven at the isolation centres and 272 at different hospitals. The condition of 201 patients was stated to be critical and 39 of them had been shifted onto ventilators.

Of the 267 new cases, 195 were detected from Karachi, including 74 from District South, 62 from District East, 30 from District Central, 11 from District Malir, and nine from District Korangi and District West each.

In the rest of Sindh, 10 new cases were diagnosed in Hyderabad, six in Dadu, five in Badin, three each in Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad, two each in Sanghar, Sukkur, Ghotki, Mirpurkhas and Khairpur, and one in Jamshoro.

The CM urged the people of Sindh to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to save themselves and their family members from the virus.

AVLC: The Anti-Vehicle Lifting Cell (AVLC) of the Karachi police on Saturday claimed to have arrested five motorcycle thieves.

Baber Ali, Asif Soomro, Abdul Rehman, Ali Hassan and Noman were arrested during raids conducted in different areas of the city, including Korangi and Jamshed Quarters.

According to a spokesperson for the AVLC, the suspects were habitual rickshaw and motorcycle thieves, adding that two rickshaws, two motorcycles and some spare parts were recovered from their possession.

They used to sell parts of the stolen motorcycles and rickshaws to scrap dealers. They were said to have been arrested for the first time; hence, they had no earlier criminal record.

Efforts for more arrests were under way, the spokesperson added.

Drug kingpin

The Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) of the Karachi police arrested a notorious drug dealer, Faizan Ameen, during a raid conducted on a tip-off in Manghopir.

According to an AVCC spokesperson, the suspect was wanted in more than four cases by the Mangophir and Pak Colony police.

A hand grenade and a 9mm pistol were found on him. The AVCC police have registered two FIRs against him and conducting further investigations.