15 more succumb to coronavirus

Fifteen more people have died due to Covid-19 and another 1,615 cases have been reported during the past 24 hours in Sindh, with the death toll due to the viral disease reaching 2,983 in the province.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Thursday that 13,339 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 1,615 people, or 12.1 per cent of those who were screened, being diagnosed with Covid-19. The provincial government has so far conducted 2,021,993 tests, which have resulted in 179,240 positive cases, which means that nine per cent of those screened have been found to be infected, he added.

Shah said that after the latest deaths, the rate of the diagnosed people who have lost their fight with Covid-19 continues to stand at two per cent. He said that 20,223 patients are currently under treatment: 19,385 in self-isolation at home, 12 at isolation centres and 826 at hospitals, while 734 patients are in critical condition, of whom 84 are on life support.

He added that 1,831 more people have recovered during the past 24 hours, increasing the number of cured patients to 156,034, which shows the recovery rate has fallen to 87 per cent. The CM said out of the 1,615 fresh cases of Sindh, 1,258 (or 78 per cent) have been reported in Karachi Division alone: 421 of the city’s new patients are from District South, 416 from District East, 197 from District Central, 97 from District Malir, 88 from District Korangi and 39 from District West.

As for the other divisions of the province, Hyderabad has reported 133 new cases, Badin 30, Larkana 22, Shaheed Benazirabad and Tando Mohammad Khan 18 each, Thatta 17, Umerkot 16, Sukkur 11, Ghotki nine, Kambar seven, Sanghar six, Dadu and Tando Allahyar four each, Jacobabad three, Khairpur and Shikarpur two each, and Matiari, Mirpurkhas and Naushehroferoze one each.

Virus spreading fast

Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho warned that Covid-19 cases have been increasing rapidly during the second wave of the pandemic as compared to the first wave. She said the situation is evident from the increase of hundreds of cases in a single day, and urged the people to strictly comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to protect themselves and their families from the infectious disease.

“Two days ago we had 1,333 Covid-19 cases in Sindh, but the day before yesterday we had over 1,900 cases in a single day, which means that there was an increase of some 600 cases. This shows how rapidly this disease is spreading in the second wave.”

Dr Azra said Covid-19 will prove to be more lethal for people in winter compared to the first wave in summer. She said respiratory illnesses and viruses spread more rapidly during winter, adding that hospitalisation, the number of critical patients and those who require life support are already on the rise everywhere in Pakistan. “We had taken some strict and serious measures during the first wave that helped us keep the pandemic under control, but this time we are seeing some slackness in compliance with the SOPs.”