Karachi’s senior physician, three others succumb to Covid-19

KARACHI: Four more people, including a senior physician, have died due to Covid-19 and 812 others have tested positive for the disease during the past 24 hours in Sindh, with the death toll due to the viral coronavirus infection reaching 3,996 in the province.

Dr Mujahid Humail had been receiving treatment at a private hospital in Karachi after contracting Covid-19, but he succumbed to the disease in the early hours of Sunday morning.

According to the Pakistan Medical Association, over 180 doctors have lost their lives due to Covid-19 across the country, while dozens of other healthcare workers have also died because of the infectious disease.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Sunday that 11,031 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 812 people, or 7.4 per cent of those who were screened, being diagnosed with Covid-19.

The provincial government has so far conducted 2,725,780 tests, which have resulted in 247,248 positive cases, which means that 9.1 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 stands at 1.62 per cent in Sindh.

He said that 18,588 patients across the province are currently infected: 17,751 are in self-isolation at home, 14 at isolation centres and 823 at hospitals, while 768 patients are in critical condition, of whom 76 are on life support.

He added that 812 more people have recovered during the past 24 hours, increasing the number of cured patients to 224,664, which shows the recovery rate to be 91 per cent.

The CM said that out of the 812 fresh cases of Sindh, 544 (or 67 per cent) have been reported in Karachi Division alone: 169 of the city’s new patients are from District East, 141 from District South, 81 from District Korangi, 73 from District Central, 43 from District Malir and 37 from District West.

As for the other districts of the province, Hyderabad has reported 101 new cases, Tando Allahyar 25, Mirpurkhas 24, Sujawal 22, Badin 20, Thatta 12, Kambar seven, Larkana six, Umerkot and Dadu five each, Jacobabad and Shikarpur four each, Sukkur, Khairpur and Naushehroferoze three each, Nawabshah two, and Kashmore and Ghotki one each, he added.

The chief executive reiterated his appeal to the people of Sindh that they should comply with the standard operating procedures devised by his provincial government.

Even though Pakistan’s government is yet to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, Sindh’s health authorities have already set up 14 vaccination centres in the province, including nine in Karachi Division.

Of the nine vaccination centres established in the city, two each have been set up in the South, East and Central districts, and one each in the Korangi, Malir and West districts.

Pakistan is expected to receive the first consignment of the Covid-19 vaccine from the Chinese company Sinopharm, which has been approached by the governments of both Pakistan and Sindh.

In the initial phase, the health authorities plan to vaccinate only the frontline healthcare and other workers, including those serving at the Covid-19 treatment facilities.

The other districts of Sindh where the vaccination centres have been established are Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas, an official of the health department said.

The official said that in Karachi’s District South, one vaccination centre has been set up at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and another at the Khaliq Dina Hall.

In District East, one vaccination centre has been established at the Ojha Campus of the Dow University of Health Sciences and another at the Aga Khan University Hospital, added the official.

The official said that in District Central, one vaccination centre has been set up at the Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad and another at the Sindh Government Hospital New Karachi.

In District Korangi, the vaccination centre has been established at the Sindh Government Hospital Korangi No. 5, in District Malir, at the Urban Health Centre in Thado Nalo, and in District West, at the Sindh Government Qatar Hospital, added the official.

The official said that Sindh’s other vaccination centres have been set up at the Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad, the HIS Hospital in Sukkur’s Labour Colony, the Chandka Medical College Hospital in Larkana, the MCH Society in Nawabshah and the District Hospital Mirpurkhas.

The official also said that these vaccination centres have been provided with all the necessary equipment and appliances, including refrigerators, while the training of the staff members to be deployed at these facilities is currently under way.

Personal protection equipment will be provided to the staff of these centres who are being trained to deal with the influx of the people to be vaccinated against Covid-19, while they are also being trained in handling and administering the vaccine, added the official.

Health Secretary Kazim Jatoi had visited some of the vaccination centres in Karachi to review the arrangements made at the facilities. He directed the officials concerned to ensure easy access for the elderly and those with disabilities.

He said that frontline workers, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, will be administered the vaccine initially, while in the second stage, people over the age of 60 and those with serious chronic comorbidities will be vaccinated against Covid-19.

“We need to facilitate the people who are old, those who are disabled and have serious complications. These vaccination centres should function in a manner to prevent people from contracting the disease.”