ENT professor, four others fall prey to coronavirus

A senior medical professor and former head of the ENT department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Dr Muhammad Usman, passed away in the late hours of Friday due to complications arising from covid-19.

He breathed his last at a private hospital, officials said, adding that he was the first doctor associated with the JPMC and Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) who died of the coronavirus infection.

“Dr Muhammad Usman, a very senior health professional and respected doctor who recently got retired from JPMC, passed away last night due to covid-19. He was a former head of JPMC’s ENT department and known for his competence and integrity,” said Dr Seemin Jamali, the JPMC executive director, as she spoke to The News on Saturday. The funeral prayers for the late professor was offered at the JPMC. Health officials said that so far, 88 health workers, including 61 doctors, had lost their lives to Covid-19 in the country, of whom 35 died in Sindh. Death toll hits 2,579

Besides Dr Usman, four more people died of covid-19 in Sindh over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 2,579, which constituted a 1.8 percent death rate.

A total of 9,094 tests were conducted and 239 more cases of Covid-19 emerged, raising the number of patients in the province to 141,713 and showing a 2.6 per cent detection rate, said Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday.

In his daily Covid-19 situation report, he said so far 1,528,228 tests had been conducted and 141,713 cases had surfaced. Of them, 134,674, including 180 overnight, had recovered, he added.

Currently, 4,406 patients are under treatment, and 4,219 of them are in home isolation, five at isolation centres and 236 at hospitals. The condition of 159 patients is stated to be critical, including 17 who have been put on ventilator.

Of the 239 new cases, 163 were detected in Karachi: 50 in District South, 70 in District East, 13 in District Central, 17 in District Korangi, eight in District Malir and five in District West. Hyderabad reported six cases, Kambar four, Khairpur, Matiari and Sukkur three each, Sujawal, Mirpurkhas and Dadu two each, Ghotki, Jamshoro, Larkana, Naushehroferoze, Shaheed Benazirabad, Shikarpur, Tando Mohammad Khan one each.

The chief minister urged the people of the province to strictly observe standard operating procedures.