-Overall tally jumps above 35,000 cases
-Nearly 9,000 recover from disease after treatment
-Country-wide fatalities cross over 700
-Punjab reports 1,356 single-day record cases
By Shakeel Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: The nationwide tally of coronavirus has jumped to 34,336 with record 2,225 new cases reported during the last twenty four hours on Wednesday.
According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 13,230 cases have so far been detected in Punjab, 13,341 in Sindh, 5,252 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,239 in Balochistan, 475 in Gilgit Baltistan, 759 in Islamabad and 88 in Azad Kashmir.
24,787 patients are still under treatment at the hospitals while 8,812 patients have so far recovered from the virus thus so far.
The death toll stands at 737 with 31 new deaths reported during the last twenty four hours. The total number of coronavirus tests conducted thus far in the country stand at 3,17,699. Moderna’s potential coronavirus vaccine gains ‘fast track’ status
Moderna said on Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted “fast track” designation to its experimental coronavirus vaccine, a move that speeds up the regulatory review process.
Moderna has been racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 285,000 people globally. A vaccine or treatment that gets the “fast track” designation is eligible for the agency’s “priority review” status, under which the FDA aims to take a decision on approving the drug within six months. The deadly coronavirus is on the rise in Punjab that saw the highest single-day spike with 1,356 new cases of the infection, taking the provincial tally to 13,225, according to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department.
A spokesperson for the department said three more coronavirus positive patients died, bringing the number of people falling prey to the infection in the province to 214. 4,452 people have thus far recovered from the disease. 816 out of 1,356 new cases surfaced in the provincial capital, the department said. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 34,336 with 31 deaths reported during the last 24 hours.
So far 13,225 cases have been registered in Punjab, 12,610 in Sindh, 5,021 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,158 in Balochistan, 759 in Islamabad, 475 in Gilgit Baltistan and 88 in Azad Kashmir. 737 patients died so far while 8,812 recovering from the disease. Sindh government spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab Wednesday said that 607 patients have been recovered from coronavirus in past 24 hours. In a statement Murtaza Wahab said, it is maximum number of recovered patients in a day.
“These patients have defeated the disease by keeping them in isolation,” government spokesperson said. On a grim note, Wahab said that 15 patients of COVID-19 died in the province in past 24 hours. “We should follow precautionary measures against novel coronavirus as a civilized nation,” Murtaza Wahab further said. “Only precaution could protect us and our families from coronavirus,” he added. Sindh government spokesperson yesterday said that there was a dire need of unity and identical narrative to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. “It is the time to fight corona, and not each other,” said Murtaza Wahab while addressing a press conference along with provincial minister Taimur Talpur.
Responding to allegations leveled by a federal minister against provincial government, Murtaza Wahab said that people across Pakistan come to Sindh for medical treatment. He said that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of Sindh has been recognized by the world and ranked sixth in Asia.
“This is the manifestation of our hard work, sincerity and commitment with the people of Sindh.” We believe in serving people instead of doing political point-scoring,” he said and added the provincial govt got administrative control of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD) in 2011 and they [Sindh govt] spread the project to other parts of Sindh.
“We established NICVD in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Khairpir and other cities of Sindh. People from across Pakistan came here [NICVD] for the treatment purchase,” he added. Sindh recorded 18 Coronavirus deaths during the past 24 hours– the highest in a single day, taking the provincial toll to 218, according to Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. In his regular video message on the coronavirus situation, Murad Ali Shah said that 593 new cases of the novel coronavirus were detected in Sindh over the past 24 hours, bringing the provincial tally of Covid-19 positive cases to 12,610. He said 4,064 tests were conducted during the previous 24 hours against which 593 came back positive. He added 80 people recovered from the disease, taking the number of recoveries to 2,229.
He said 10,163 patients are under treatment, including 8,668 in home isolation, while 915 are being kept at isolation centres and 580 at different hospitals. 82 patients are in critical condition, of them 27 are on ventilators, he added.
Murad Ali Shah said that 412 from 593 new cases belonged to Karachi, among which 124 were reported from South district, 92 from East district, 63 from Central district, 37 from Malir District and 51 from Korangi district.
On International Nurses Day, he paid tribute to all nurses, paramedical staff and doctors serving on the frontline in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. He also urged citizens to strictly follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) outlined by the government to curb the spread of the virus. “Govt will impose strict lockdown if citizens and markets didn’t implement the lockdown SOPs,” warned Murad Ali Shah. With 894, new cases of coronavirus reported from Sindh and Punjab, the nationwide tally of the cases has soared to 32,975.
According to the latest statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the death toll from coronavirus in Pakistan has jumped to 738. At least 10 police officials have been affected by coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwar on Wednesday.
This was stated by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations, Zahoor Afridi. The policemen confirmed with coronavirus infection have been quarantine. He said the affected policemen will undergo the tests after few days. On the other hand, the number of policemen affected by the coronavirus in Sindh has gone up to 151.
According to the spokesperson of Sindh police, at least 119 policemen are under treatment while 29 have recovered and sent back to their homes. The spokesman added that two policemen have died due to the coronavirus so far while the condition of one sub-inspector was stated to be critical. “Covid-19 infected policemen were being looked after properly and steps being taken to this effect on daily basis,” added the spokesperson.
The Sindh government on Wednesday granted permission to 35 more factories to resume their operations which were suspended in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. In a notification issued by the Sindh home department, factories related to garments, textiles and steel have been allowed to resume their operations to complete their pending orders. A total of 746 factories have now been allowed to function in the province by the Pakistan People’s Party government.
The units would be bound to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) amid coronavirus outbreak, the notification reads. It may be noted that, Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday had announced to open markets in the province from Monday (May 11).
