Daily Times

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that 2179 patients of coronavirus were detected after testing 9244 samples while 26 more patients lost their lives lifting the death toll to 1269.

In a statement, said that 9244 tests were conducted which diagnosed 2179 more cases that constituted 23.5 percent detection rate. He added that so far 435393 tests have been conducted which detected 80446 patients constituting 18.4 percent detection ratio.

The CM said that overnight 26 more patients died lifting the death toll to 1269 that constituted 1.5 percent death rate. He said that stemming from COVID-19 we had 48 and 49 deaths on June 17 and 18 respectively which were the highest so far. “We have controlled the death rate by spreading awareness among the people and trying to reduce it [death rate] further,” he said.

The CM said that currently 34654 patients were under treatment, of them 33110 in home isolation, 88 at Isolation Centers and 1456 at different hospitals. Shah said that at present 655 patients were in critical condition, of them 94 have been shifted onto the ventilators. He prayed for their early recovery. Overnight 1079 patients recovered and returned to normal life, he said and added the number of patients recovered so far has reached to 44523 that constituted 55.5 percent recovery rate.

According to Murad Ali Shah, out of 2179 new cases 1406 detected from six districts of Karachi division. They include 555 East, 358 South, 171 Korangi, 138 Central, 109 West and 75 Malir. He said Sukkur has 86 new cases, Hyderabad 54, Ghotki 40, Khairpur 38, Jamshoro 26, Mirpurkhas 22, Thatta 19, Larkana 17, Sanghar 14, Naushehroferoze 12, Matiari 12, Shikarpur 12, Shaheed Benazirabad nine, Umerkot eight, Dadu seven, Kashmore and Tando Allahyar three each, Badin and Kambar each and Jacobabad one. all over Sindh we have developed a capacity of conducting around 12000 test per day,” he said and added that in Karachi we have a maximum capacity of testing samples per day. urged the people of the province to protect themselves by observing social distancing, handwashing and wearing masks while going out of homes.

“This strategy will help to slow the spread,” he said and hoped people would help the government in containing the virus.

Punjab has reported 1,322 new coronavirus cases, taking the provincial tally to 74,202, according to the government’s Covid-19 portal.

It has also reported 17 additional deaths, taking the total number of fatalities from the virus to 1,673.

More than 25,000 people have recovered from the virus in Punjab.

Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have collectively reported 219 new cases and three additional deaths from the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, over 146 inmates and jail staffers on Sunday have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Sukkur Central Jail.

According to Sukkur Central Jail authorities, a total of 1600 tests were conducted, of which 146 tested positive for COVID-19.

93 people, out of 146 positive have recovered from the disease, said authorities. Those who recovered from novel coronavirus include 85 prisoners and eight jail staffers.

27 COVID-19 positive prisoners and 26 jail staffers have been isolated and kept in quarantine, added the authorities.

Last month, over 200 inmates and nine warders had tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Karachi Central Jail.

On the other hand, making a significant count against the novel coronavirus, more than 92,000 people in Pakistan had so far recovered from the pandemic, official figures said on Sunday.

According to the NCOC data shared, 25,013 tests conducted during last 24 hours and 92,624 people recovered so far across the country making it a significant count.

It also said that total active Covid cases in the country are 106,213 and 502 vents occupied across the country out of 1562 vents allocated for COVID-19.

It said that 1,239,153 tests have been conducted and 768 hospitals with COVID facilities with 5,342 patients admitted across the country. The government also provided 189 additional oxygenated beds in Islamabad in a four days’ time span to meet contingency requirements.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza in an online meeting informed Regional Director of the World Health Organization Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari that Pakistan was fighting COVID-19 through a robust coordinated national response.

Purpose of the meeting was to discuss Pakistan’s COVID-19 response and explore areas where WHO could provide technical guidance and support to the country.

Speaking about political commitment in Pakistan to fighting the disease, Dr Mirza said this was the highest level of uninterrupted political attention to a health-care issue.

Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired the National Coordination Committee with all Provincial Chief Ministers as members, he added.

The National Command and Operation Centre was established in March with top leadership discussing each aspect of the response thread-bare every day.

Pakistan was implementing smart lockdowns rather than a generalized lockdown as the prime minister was cognizant of the financial hardship for around 25 percent of the population living below the poverty line.