Covid-19 kills 18 more as another 1,411 test positive

Eighteen more people have died due to Covid-19 and 1,411 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 4,909 in the province.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Saturday that 19,149 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 1,411 people, or 7.4 per cent of those who were screened, being diagnosed with Covid-19.

The provincial government has so far conducted 3,934,264 tests, which have resulted in 308,101 positive cases, which means that eight 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 two per cent in Sindh.

He said that 22,195 patients across the province are currently infected: 21,299 are in self-isolation at home, 15 at isolation centres and 881 at hospitals, while 844 patients are in critical condition, of whom 71 are on life support. He added that 830 more people have recovered during the past 24 hours, increasing the number of cured patients to 280,997, which shows the recovery rate to be 91.2 per cent.

The CM said that out of the 1,411 fresh cases of Sindh, 780 (or 55.3 per cent) have been reported in Karachi Division alone: 257 of the city’s new patients are from District South, 247 from District East, 114 from District Central, 77 from District Malir, 68 from District Korangi and 17 from District West.

As for the other districts of the province, Hyderabad has reported 129 new cases, Jamshoro 40, Sukkur 38, Sanghar 36, Ghotki 35, Shaheed Benazirabad 27, Kashmore 26, Sujawal 24, Mirpurkhas and Tando Muhammad Khan 23 each, Jacobabad and Shikarpur 22 each, Larkana 21, Badin and Umerkot 20 each, Dadu 19, Matiari 18, Naushehroferoze 15, Thatta 13, Khairpur 12, Tando Allahyar nine and Kambar one, 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.