Daily Times

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients Friday crossed 2,600, while six more deaths were reported in the country, taking the total death toll so far to 40.

The total number of cases crossed 1,000 mark in Punjab as 155 more cases were confirmed on Friday, taking the provincial tally to 1069. Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department confirmed that three of the new cases were reported from Lahore’s Camp Jail.

Sindh Health and Population Welfare Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho confirmed three more deaths in the province on Friday. A 54-year-old patient in Hyderabad had tested positive earlier in the day. He had gotten infected through local transmission. The patient had a neurological disorder which had compromised his immune system. He passed away at a hospital.

Earlier, the provincial government recorded two more deaths from the novel coronavirus. Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator to the Sindh health minister, said both patients were residents of Karachi and had tested positive on April 1. One patient, who was 60 years of age, had heart problems and was placed on a ventilator. The other patient, who was 82, had renal issues.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah Friday said there has been an 87 per cent rise in coronavirus cases across the province in the last 17-18 days. “This is alarming and more focused and collective efforts are needed to control the spread of the pandemic,” he added.

Balochistan health department confirmed six new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the provincial tally to 175 on Friday. According to the provincial government spokesperson, Liaquat Shahwani, nine of the affected persons are doctors. He said 19 of the patients have recovered, while one has passed away. The remaining are under treatment at various hospitals in the province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Directorate General Health Services also confirmed 32 new cases of coronavirus in the province, taking the provincial tally to 343.

It has also confirmed two new deaths – one each in Swat and Mansehra.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information Ajmal Wazir said that the provincial government will take care of the Tableeghi Jamaat members currently in the province. “We will make sure they don’t suffer at all, some of them have tested positive and are being quarantined. We will request leaders like Maulana Tariq Jamil to tell the nation that the government’s purpose of quarantining people is to protect everyone from coronavirus, thus everyone should strictly follow the SOPs laid down by the government,” he said.

On the international front, the United Kingdom death toll from the coronavirus rose by 684 to 3,605, up 23 per cent from the previous day. The number of infections also rose to 38,168.

Stephen Powis, the national medical director of National Health Service England, said at a Downing Street briefing that a high death rate would continue to be seen for ‘a few weeks yet’. British government scientists say that the United Kingdom would be doing well if it kept the coronavirus death toll below 20,000

Measures taken by German officials to slow the spread of the coronavirus are starting to show effect, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control said. “We are seeing that the spread of the virus is getting slower […] it’s working,” said RKI President Lothar Wieler, stressing that restrictions on public life ‘need to be maintained’ and it was too early to claim victory. “I need to say very clearly: the measures need to be maintained. Keeping your distance and staying at home is imperative,” he said.

Singapore will close schools and workplaces while people are being told to stay home, as the city-state ramps up curbs to stem the spread of coronavirus. Authorities had slowly been introducing curbs, such as closing bars and nightclubs, but had so far avoided the kind of tough restrictions seen in other countries. However, after a jump in the number of locally transmitted cases in recent days, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it was time to apply a ‘circuit breaker’ to halt the spread of the virus.