Daily Times

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail tested positive on Monday as the nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients jumped to 13,915 on Monday, with 5,526 cases reported in Punjab, 4,996 in Sindh, 1,984 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 781 in Balochistan, 318 in Gilgit Baltistan, 245 in Islamabad and 65 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 292 lives while some 3,029 coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

“I have just been tested Covid 19 positive, Allah Kareem inshallah will fight it out. @ImranKhanPTI thought us to fight out the most difficult in life and I believe this is nothing against what we r prepared for. May Allah give strength to fight this Pandemic inshallah,” the Sindh governor posted on his Twitter handle late Monday night.

A patient suspected to have Covid-19, who was admitted to the coronavirus isolation ward at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, died after succumbing to his injuries following a suicide attempt. JPMC Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali said the patient was a young man in his 30s who had been admitted to the hospital a few days ago, adding that he was a drug user. He was tested for Covid-19 but, according to the hospital, his results were still pending. After his suicide attempt, he was brought to the hospital’s emergency room where he passed away.

Former president of the Associated Press of Pakistan’s employees union and senior journalist Zafar Rasheed Bhatti passed away in Islamabad due to coronavirus on Monday. Bhatti is believed to have contracted the virus during a Tableegh visit. He had gotten sick a month ago and was admitted to a quarantine facility in Rawalpindi when he began showing symptoms.

Two more coronavirus patients lost their lives on Monday at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad, bringing the death toll to nine in the hospital.

According to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science focal person Dr Naseem Akhtar, an 89-year-old male patient and 65-years-old female patient were pronounced dead at the PIMS hospital. Both were suffering from coronavirus and had other diseases also. The woman was admitted to PIMS on April 19 where she received treatment for eight days. She was a resident of Rawalpindi.

On Monday, Balochistan reported 72 new coronavirus cases with one more fatality, according to a statement issued by the health department. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the province has reached 781 while the death toll has swelled to 14, it added.

Punjab confirmed 80 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the provincial total to 5,526, according to a spokesperson for the provincial health department. The province also reported three more deaths, raising the death toll to 84.

The Punjab government will start random testing from today in the province to assess the spread of coronavirus and estimate the number of Covid-19 patients. “We are going to start Smart Sampling in Punjab from Tuesday. A committee consisting of eminent experts has been formed to examine the results and give feedback on future decisions and strategies,” Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said on Monday in a tweet from his official handle. He went on to say that initially the government’s focus is on to test people in quarantine centres. “Now, with the increase in testing capacity and the burden on system is relatively low, we will be able to better evaluate the presence of coronavirus in the local community via smart sampling,” the CM said in a follow-up tweet.

At least 120 cases of coronavirus emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, taking the provincial tally to 1,984. According to the health department, the contagious disease has claimed six more lives in the last 24 hours. At least 18 more patients have also recovered from Covid-19.

Six new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), according to the government’s Covid-19 portal. The tally of confirmed cases in AJK now stands at 65.

Three more crew members of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been diagnosed as positive for the novel coronavirus. The affected flight attendants were put into quarantine in a local hotel in Islamabad for two days upon return from Manchester on board a repatriation flight. During this period, they took a test for the virus, which turned out to be positive. A spokesperson for the national flag carrier confirmed the news saying they have been shifted to a hospital for treatment.