Daily Times

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday as nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients jumped to 16,347, with 6,220 cases reported in Punjab, 6,053 in Sindh, 2,313 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,049 in Balochistan, 333 in Gilgit Baltistan, 313 in Islamabad and 66 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 361 lives while some 4,105 coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

“I have put myself in self-quarantine,” Asad Qaiser posted on his Twitter handle, confirming he has caught the virus. “I request the entire nation to take precautions and to pray for my recovery,” he said.

Balochistan reported 71 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the provincial tally to 1,049. However, the active cases as of now are 852, according to the health department. The provincial government conducted 615 tests on Thursday. Up till now, the authorities have conducted 9,435 tests in the province ever since the outbreak of pandemic in the country. With 183 recovered patients, 14 patients have so far died due to the coronavirus in the province.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday said that 358 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the province over the past 24 hours, pushing the provincial tally to 6,053. In a video statement, he said that 12 more people have died during the past 24 hours in the province, taking the number of people who have died from the disease to 112. The 12 recent deaths over the past 24 hours are the highest number of fatalities from the contagion in the province so far, he added.

Murad said a total of 54,377 tests have been conducted so far, including 2,578 done over the past 24 hours. He said that 53 more people recuperated in the province during the last 24 hours, raising the number of people who have recovered thus far to 1,332. Moreover, 4,721 patients of coronavirus have been under treatment including 3,473 have been isolated at homes, the chief minister said. At isolation centres, 741 patients have been admitted and 505 are under treatment at hospitals, he added.

Murad Ali Shah said that 45 fresh cases of coronavirus were reported from Karachi’s District Central, 72 cases in District South, 62 in District East, 58 cases from District West, 32 cases in Korangi and 15 cases from District Malir. Moreover, three cases were reported in Sukkur, 34 in Shikarpur, five in Hyderabad, six in Dadu, four in Sanghar, one case each in Jamshoro, Thatta and Matiari, 13 each in Larkana and Khairpur and seven cases in Shikarpur, he added.

The emergency ward of Sindh Government Children Hospital in Karachi was sealed after the nurse of the emergency ward worker tested positive for the virus. The ward will be opened after spraying the area with disinfectant.

An assistant commissioner of Sindh’s Matiari district has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to lab reports. Saeedabad AC Ammar Hussain Rizvi was among the officials who performed duties during the visit of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, who tested positive for the virus earlier this week, to Matiari on April 22.

Rizvi, who is originally a resident of Hyderabad, has been quarantined in a facility located in his own office, an administration official said. Unconfirmed reports said he had come into contact with some pilgrims as well aside from being a part of the governor’s visit.

As many as 396 new coronavirus cases have emerged in Punjab on Thursday, taking the provincial tally to 6,220, the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department said. It also reported six more deaths from Covid-19, taking the number of people who died from the infection in the province so far to 106. Some 1,850 people have recovered from the coronavirus, while 27 patients are in critical condition. As many as 79,914 tests have been conducted in the province thus far, the department said.

The number of healthcare workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who tested positive for the coronavirus has reached 103, according to a report of the provincial health department. The infected employees include 51 doctors, 14 nurses and 38 other health staff.