Daily Times

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients jumped to 4,479 on Thursday, with 2,224 cases reported in Punjab, 1,128 in Sindh, 560 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 219 in Balochistan, 213 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 102 in Islamabad, and 33 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed 65 lives so far, while at least 572 coronavirus patients have recovered.

Punjab’s Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department reported 58 new cases on Thursday, taking the provincial total to 2,224. According to the department, 10 of the new cases have been reported among prisoners. There has also been one more death, taking the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the province to 18.

At least 74 out of the 92 new coronavirus cases confirmed in Sindh on Thursday have been reported from Karachi, according to a spokesperson for the Sindh health department. Karachi now has 632 cases of Covid-19, more than anywhere else in Sindh.

More than 70 per cent of all coronavirus cases reported in Karachi were transmitted locally, Meeran Yousuf, media coordinator to the Sindh health minister, said.

Meanwhile, a brother-in-law of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also died on Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus at a Karachi hospital, officials said.

Syed Mehdi Shah, the managing director of Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE), had been hospitalised after he became ill after returning from Iraq. He was placed on a ventilator after his condition worsened.

The grade-19 officer, who was in his mid-50s, was diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 10.

Mehdi had reportedly gone on pilgrimage to Syria and Iraq and also intended to visit Iran but could not go there because Tehran imposed a ban on foreign arrivals.

He came to Pakistan through Lebanon and also attended his office at SITE for a few days but was admitted to a private hospital after his fever did not disappear. It wasn’t known as to where he actually contracted the virus, an official said. A source at Chief Minister House said that he was also diabetic, which may have caused health complications that led to his death.

Meanwhile, seven new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Balochistan on Thursday, provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said. With this, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Balochistan has risen to 219.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Thursday extended the suspension of flight operations till April 21.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said that 73 per cent of Covid-19 deaths in the country are of people who had pre-existing health conditions. He added that 85pc of those who died from Covid-19 were above the age of 50 while 78pc of them were males.

With five new cases of coronavirus in Azad Kashmir, the number of confirmed patients jumped to 33 in AJK on Thursday. AJK Health Minister Dr Najeeb Naqi said one case was reported in Abbaspur and four others were detected in Palandari.

The local authorities on Thursday completely de-sealed the Islamabad’s Bara Kahu area that was closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus. All the streets and mosques in the area have been opened after decrease in coronavirus cases.