Daily Times

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients Thursday reached 6,929, with 3,276 cases in Punjab, 2,008 in Sindh, 912 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 305 in Balochistan, 237 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 145 in Islamabad, and 46 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed 128 lives while at least 1,645 coronavirus patients have recovered.

Balochistan on Thursday reported 14 new cases of coronavirus, taking the provincial tally to 305, provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani confirmed. The province has also reported two new deaths, taking the total number of people who have died from Covid-19 in the province to five.

Punjab reported 44 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of Covid-19 patients in the province to 3,276, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said in a tweet from his official handle. According to the official number, a total of 260 positive cases were reported in the province in a single day.

“Punjab’s #COVID19 status as on 16th April: Total Tests Conducted: 48,381; Positive cases: 3,276; Zaireen in quarantines: 701; Members of Tableeghi Jama’ats: 1,257; Jail prisoners: 91; Non-Quarantined cases: 1227; Recovered: 630; Deaths: 35; Critical Patients: 17#PunjabCoronavirusUpdate,” the chief minister tweeted.

The province also reported one more death. Punjab’s death toll from the virus now stands at 35.

With the upgradation of four testing facilities in Punjab, the government-run laboratories are now able to conduct 4,200 Covid-19 tests daily, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said in a tweet. In the next phase, the officials will carry out 10,000 random tests in Lahore to track the spread of coronavirus in the population, he added.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid told a joint press conference along with Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat in Lahore that so far, 630 patients of Covid-19 have recovered while 35 lost their lives. She said 13 patients are in a critical condition in different hospitals, adding that the government is providing best healthcare facilities to the patients to save their lives.

The minister maintained that personal protective equipment is being provided to all the health professionals in the province. She said that the provincial government will conduct 10,000 tests for Covid-19 at community and UC levels from the next week.

Balochistan on Thursday reported 12 more coronavirus cases, taking the provincial tally to 303. According to the health department statement, as many as 142 patients have fully recovered with five deaths reported thus far. At least 4,427 Covid-19 tests were carried out as of Thursday, officials said, adding that there are 4,209 suspected coronavirus patients in the province.

Adviser to Sindh chief minister Murtaza Wahab reported four new casualties and 340 new cases of the deadly disease across the province. He said the total number of deaths is 45, while at least 576 patients have recovered – 16 in the past 24 hours.

Some 18,900 tests have been conducted in Sindh, he added.

At least 11 Tableeghi Jamaat members have tested positive for Covid-19 in Sindh’s Sanghar district, the deputy commissioner confirmed. According to Deputy Commissioner Dr Imran-ul-Hassan samples were taken from 96 Tableeghi Jamaat members who were isolated in different areas of the district, and 11 of them were confirmed to have Covid-19 while the result of 16 more people is awaited. The district’s total tally of cases is now 16.

Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah reached Sukkur to review the lockdown situation in the city. He himself drove the car and visited different areas of the city to review the measures taken for lockdown.

While addressing a press conference in Sukkur, the chief minister said that the provincial authorities have extended the lockdown to save the lives of people from deadly coronavirus.