Daily Times

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients soared to 96,445 with 35,308 cases reported in Punjab, 36,364 in Sindh, 13,001 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 6,221 in Balochistan, 927 in Gilgit Baltistan, 4,323 in Islamabad and 375 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 1,974 lives while about 32,581 coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

Two more PML-N lawmakers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Khawaja Salman Rafique, former Punjab health minister and brother of PML-N MNA Saad Rafique, has quarantined himself at home after testing positive for Covid-19, according to PML-N lawmaker Raheela Khadim Hussain.

Additionally, former PML-N MPA Saiful Malook Khokhar also tested positive for the virus, following which he has gone into self-isolation, according to his son Malik Faisal Khokhar – who is also infected with the respiratory disease.

Punjab has once again reported the highest number of coronavirus cases with 2,164 new entries taking the provincial tally to 35,308. The province has also reported 30 new deaths. The total number of cases has risen to 93,983 and the total number of deaths stand at 1,935

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday said that coronavirus has claimed 19 more lives taking the provincial death toll to 634 while 1,475 new cases emerged which raised the total tally to 36,364. In a statement issued from the CM House on Saturday, Murad said that the death of 19 patients constitutes 1.7 per cent of the total. “We have 36,364 cases in Sindh against 222,890 tests conducted so far,” the chief minister said, adding that at present, 17,465 patients are under treatment, 16,138 of them are in self-isolation at their homes, 61 at isolation centres and 1,266 in different hospitals. “At present, 388 patients are in critical condition, 58 of them have been put on the ventilators,” he said and prayed for their early recovery.

He said that through telemedicine all the patients in home isolation were being treated properly. “The Sindh government has engaged around 500 doctors all over Sindh to keep in touch with patients in home isolation and provide them treatment,” he said, and added in case of emergency they would be shifted to hospitals. According to Murad, 554 patients have recovered and sent to their homes. “So far 18,265 patients have recovered which constituted 50.3 per cent recovery rate, the highest in the country,” he said.

Providing district-wise break-down of the cases, the chief minister said that out of 1,475 new cases in the province, 990 cases were detected in Karachi. “They include district East 366, Central 223, South 176, Malir 87, Korangi nine and West 48.” He said that Ghotki has 97 new cases, Larkana 64, Hyderabad 59, Sukkur 56, Jacobabad 26, Dadu 19, Shikarpur 13, Khairpur 10, Mirpurkhas seven, Sanghar six, Shaheed Benazirabad three, Thatta two, Umerkot, Badin, Jamshoro, Kambar, Kashmore have one each.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department, in its daily situational report, confirmed 20 more casualties due to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours to bring the provincial death toll to 561. At least 12 deaths were reported from Peshawar, two each in Buner, Bajaur and Battagram, and one each in Nowshera and Haripur. At least 542 news cases – 26 from Int’l flights – were also confirmed, taking the total to 13,001. At least 84 more patients have recovered taking total to 3,450 in the province.

Health officials in Gilgit Baltistan have confirmed 30 more cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours to bring the region’s tally to 927. The virus has claimed 13 lives while 573 patients have recovered in the region so far. Active cases stand at 341.

The health officials in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have confirmed another 30 cases of coronavirus in the state to raise its tally to 375. The virus has claimed eight lives while 204 patients have recovered in the state so far. Active cases now stand at 163.

As many as 194 new coronavirus cases emerged in Balochistan in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections across the province to 5776.

Global cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday topped seven million, as case numbers surge in Brazil and India. About 30 per cent of those cases, or two million infections, are in the United States. Latin America has the second-largest outbreak with over 15 percent of cases. Globally, deaths from the novel coronavirus are approaching 400,000. The US accounts for about one-quarter of all fatalities but deaths in South America are rapidly rising.