Daily Times

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients now stands at 13,314, with 5,446 cases in Punjab, 4,615 in Sindh, 1,864 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 781 in Balochistan, 318 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 235 in Islamabad and 55 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The virus has claimed at least 277 lives in the country, while at least 2,866 coronavirus patients have recovered. The number of cases continues to soar despite the country being under lockdown for the fifth consecutive week.

According to details, another 71 cases of the coronavirus were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the provincial health department, taking the total to 1,864. In addition, five more deaths have also been reported in the past 24 hours, taking to toll to 98. The health department added that 30 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the total to 515.

Over in Balochistan, 60 new cases of the coronavirus were on Sunday, according to government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani, taking the provincial total to 781.

Separately, Gilgit-Baltistan’s health department stated that 10 new cases were detected in the region on Sunday, taking its tally to 318.

According to National Command and Operation Centre, 2,866 patients of coronavirus have recovered so far, while at least 78 others are still fighting for their lives.

In Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said that among overall 383 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, 273 have been reported from Karachi. This is the highest jump in the number of cases reported in the province since February 26, when the first case emerged in Pakistan. In a video statement, the chief minister said that 99 fresh cases of coronavirus were reported in Karachi’s District Central, 80 cases in District South, 66 in District East, 20 cases in District West, 26 in Korangi and 10 in District Malir. Moreover, 17 cases reported in Sukkur, seven in Hyderabad and four cases in Naushahro Feroze, he said. Two cases each were reported from Khairpur Mirs, Thatta, Badin and Matyari, while one each from Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu and Larkana, the chief minister said.

Murad Ali Shah said that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sindh has reached 4,615, which is 11.2 percent of the total 41,216 tests conducted in the province. In past 24 hours, 3,028 tests were conducted in Sindh, the CM said. Three more coronavirus-related deaths were recorded in 24 hours, taking the death toll to 81 in the province.

Moreover, 3662 patients of coronavirus have been under treatment, including 2,432 of those isolated at homes, the chief minister said. At isolation centres, 767 patients have been admitted and 463 are under treatment at hospitals, he said. Meanwhile, a pregnant woman who had recently been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus has given birth to a baby at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (DRPCHK).

The hospital management said that both the newborn and the mother were in stable condition.

The woman, a resident of Karachi’s Central district, was referred to the hospital by the district health officer on Saturday. “We had already been informed the patient was COVID-19 positive,” said the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Khadim Hussain Qureshi. On the other hand, amid protests by medics over unavailability of personal protective equipment (PEE) in the province, three more health workers at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.

According to the hospital administration, two nurses and a paramedic were tested positive for the infection, pushing the number of health professionals who have been affected by the disease at the health facility so far to 32. Reports of 80 other staffers who took a test for the coronavirus are yet to come.

Around a dozen doctors and medical staff went on strike due to the unavailability of PPE in the province the other day.

Health workers on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus have been complaining about lack of safety gear across the country with more than 150 medics and paramedics testing positive for the virus nationwide.

Also, the emergency department of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) – one of Karachi’s biggest public hospitals – was sealed on Sunday after a doctor tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Dr Saleem Shaikh, additional police surgeon at the hospital, said that the emergency department was sealed at around 3pm after the doctor’s test came back positive.