Daily Times

Sindh has reported 243 coronavirus cases and nine deaths during the past 24 hours, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

In a statement, he said 6,699 tests were carried out during this period. With the new cases, the provincial total has risen to 126,425 while the death toll is 2,331.

Meanwhile, Punjab has reported 56 new coronavirus infections, down from 188 a day earlier, according to the government’s Covid-19 portal. This has taken the provincial tally of cases to 95,447.

The Punjab government’s efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus are bearing fruit as the province recorded a 99 per cent decline in new daily cases on Monday.

No more coronavirus-related death was reported during the previous 24 hours, he said, adding death toll from the disease in the province stands at 2,182 while more than 832,000 tests have been conducted across Punjab thus far.

The number of patients recuperating from the disease has surged to 88,698.

It is noteworthy that researchers recently found presence of novel coronavirus in 70 percent sewerage samples in Lahore. Chairman Institute of Microbiology, Prof. Dr Tahir Yaqub said that coronavirus found during stool testing by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. “The virus found in 70 to 80 percent samples of the disposal pumps in the city,” Dr Yaqub said. The samples were collected from all disposal pumps of the city, he further said.

“Coronavirus hot spots exist at most parts of Lahore,” Tahir Yaqub said. Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have collectively reported 31 new coronavirus cases and one additional fatality. The breakdown is as follows: Islamabad: 12 cases, GB: 16 cases, 1 death, AJK: 3 cases. The government’s Covid-19 portal shows that 2,786 more people have recovered from the coronavirus in the country, taking the total to 269,087. According to the portal, 771 virus patients are in critical condition.