ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus cases have surged to 646 country-wide as 292 patients have been tested positive for the epidemic in Sindh, 104 in Balochistan, 152 in Punjab, 31 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 55 in Gilgit-Baltistan, ten in Islamabad and one Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan has so far confirmed three fatalities from the pandemic, with latest casualty being a 77-year-old man in Karachi on Friday. The first two deaths were reported in Mardan and Hangu of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The death in Karachi was verified by Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho. The victim had no travel history and was admitted to a private hospital on Thursday in critical condition.
The minister said the patient was a cancer survivor and had diabetes and hypertension when he contracted the virus. She added that the patient did not have any travel or contact history, meaning they contracted the virus from the community.
Sindh remains the worst affected with a total of 292 cases. Part of the surge was attributed to 89 new patients who have tested positive for the virus in Sukkur, the provincial health department said. In Karachi alone, the tally hit 109 (including one death and three recoveries) of which 60 were said to be cases of “local transmission”.
Health and Population Welfare Department, Sindh reported in Karachi, 109 Positive, three cured and one die while 60 cases out of 105 in Karachi are of Local Transmission. In Sukkur pilgrims 187 were positive and 527 were negative
Out of total 292 cases in Sindh 288 patients are under treatment
The Sindh government has advised people to stay at home for three days and has set up an isolation facility at Expo Centre Karachi. The facility can cater to 1,100 patients who test positive for COVID-19.
In Punjab, according to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, there are 152 coronavirus cases so far. Seventeen new cases were reported late Saturday night, bumping the tally from 137 to 152.
According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department, the number of cases in the province stands at 31 after four new patients were reported in addition to two reported hours earlier. Two more cases have been confirmed in KP since yesterday taking our total tally to 25. Both the cases have foreign travel history.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the total number of cases rose to 55 from the previous total of 30, after 25 new cases were reported in the region.
According to the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, the appointment of information department secretary Fida Hussain has especially been made and he will be the region’s only verified source for information pertaining to coronavirus patients.
The Balochistan chief secretary had reported that the confirmed number of cases in the province had reached 104, whereas the premier’s aide on health, Dr Zafar Mirza had put the total at 103.
Balochistan government has decided to impose partial lockdown across the province in a bid to minimize the spread of the deadly coronavirus. With most of the country’s cases originating from Pak-Iran border along Balochistan, the government has decided to limit public activity and movement to slow down the virus.
The notification says that in pursuance of decisions made in the first meeting of the core committee for COVID-19, the government has decided that all shopping malls and crowded markets shall remain closed. Inter-provincial transport and public transport buses will also remain closed, the notification read. These orders have been imposed for a period of three weeks.
Moreover, restaurants have been barred from letting customers dine-in and only take-away or home delivery services would be allowed.
In a preventive measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, Railways Minister has decided to suspend operation of 24 more trains in the country.
In a video message on Twitter, the minister said that up till now, a total of 34 trains have been suspended in a bid to limit the spread of the virus. He also said that out of 134 total trains, 100 are still operational and the decision has cut down the number of daily train passengers from 200,000 to 165,000.
He also highlighted that Pakistan Railways has refunded train tickets worth Rs80 million to affected passengers which could be used to travel through alternate trains.
Globally, 185 countries have been affected, more than 10,000 people have died and more than 253,000 infected by the disease as it spreads rapidly to new territories. The epicentre of the outbreak has now shifted to Europe, especially Italy, which is recording a rapid rise in new cases and deaths every day.
Read more: Balochistan coronavirus tally jumps to 104 after 12 new cases reported
