-Authorities in Punjab, Sindh face increasing pressure from transporters to bring vehicles on roads
-SOPs implementation becomes challenging
-Virus tally hits 41,300 mark with 11,341 recoveries
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: The nationwide tally of coronavirus has soared to 41,300 in Pakistan with 1,352 new cases reported during the past 24 hours, on Sunday.
According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 14,584 cases have so far been detected in Punjab, 16,377 in Sindh, 6,061 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,692 in Balochistan, 527 in Gilgit Baltistan, 947 in Islamabad and 112 in Azad Kashmir. 27,937 patients are still under treatment at the hospitals while 11341 patients have so far recovered from the virus.
The death toll stands at 873 with 39 new deaths reported during the last twenty-four hours. The total number of coronavirus tests conducted thus far in the country stand at 3,73,410, with 14,175 tests conducted during past 24 hours.
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 309,296 people since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by media. At least 4,588,360 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 1,618,800 are now considered recovered.
The country to have registered the most number of deaths over the last 24 hours is the United States, with 1,247, followed by Brazil with 824 and Britain with 468. The United States also has the highest number of deaths overall with 87,991 from 1,456,029 cases. At least 250,747 people have been declared recovered.
Britain has the second highest toll overall, with 34,466 deaths from 240,161 cases. It is followed by Italy with 31,763 deaths and 224,760 cases. France has recorded 27,625 deaths for 178,870 infections (though this last figure has not been updated since Thursday). Spain has recorded 27,563 fatalities for 230,698 cases.
China excluding Hong Kong and Macau has to date declared 4,633 deaths and 82,941 cases. It has 78,219 recovered cases. Sindh recorded 787 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the provincial tally of Covid-19 positive cases to 16377, according to Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. In a video message on the coronavirus situation in the province, he said 787 people turned out to be positive for the deadly virus when 5,034 tests were conducted during this period. Thus far, 122,894 tests have been conducted in the province.
Murad Ali Shah said that nine more people have died in Sindh from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 277. Murad Ali Shah said that 515 news cases have emerged from Karachi today. He said 11,891 patients are under treatment, including 10,485 in home isolation, while 838 are being kept at isolation centres and 568 at different hospitals. The nationwide tally of coronavirus has crossed 40,000 in Pakistan with 1,352 new cases reported during the past 24 hours.
According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 14,584 cases have so far been detected in Punjab, 16,377 in Sindh, 5,847 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,544 in Balochistan, 572 in Gilgit Baltistan, 947 in Islamabad and 112 in Azad Kashmir. 27,937 patients are still under treatment at the hospitals while 11341 patients have so far recovered from the virus. The death toll stands at 873 with 39 new deaths reported during the last twenty-four hours. The total number of coronavirus tests conducted thus far in the country stand at 3,73,410, with 14,175 tests conducted during past 24 hours.
Officials in Punjab have been directed to prepare SOPs for the Jumatul Wida and Eid-ul-Fitr congregational prayers in the province and to ensure implementation of the guidelines set forth by the government, media reported.
The directions came during a meeting chaired by Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat to review the situation emerging in the province due to the pandemic. The meeting was also attended by provincial minister for industries Mian Aslam Iqbal, Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq and IG Punjab police.
The chief secretary briefed the meeting that security should be provided during the Friday and Eid prayers, adding, that violation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will not be tolerated at any cost. Rafiq further instructed officials to ensure that SOPs were being followed in the markets with the help of traders. “In case of non-compliance of SOPs, the entire market should be sealed,” he said. He added, markets are only allowed to conduct business four days a week, whereas, they will remain close for the remaining three days.
Shopping malls across Punjab will re-open from tomorrow (Monday) after the provincial government gave the go-ahead to resume operations. Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, on Saturday, had said the overall situation across the province was satisfactory after the government allowed people to go on about their daily businesses while ensuring the implementation of SOPs. The minister had said that the decision to either ease or ramp up lockdown restrictions will be taken keeping in view the public’s response during the coronavirus pandemic.
The information minister had added that people could carry out daily activities while making sure they are following the SOPs put in place by the government. Transporters in Punjab have broken off into two factions after the provincial government allowed resumption of public transport yesterday, newsmen reported on Sunday.
Insaf Transport Federation has welcomed the announcement and have said that they will resume public transport across the province from tomorrow.
Whearas, The All Pakistan Transport Association has remained reluctant and hesitant in resuming operations and has opposed the initiative. Insaf Transport Federation says that Punjab government and them have mutually agreed upon the standard operating procedures (SOPs) thay they will adhere to. While, All Pakistan Transport Association has said that the government and them are yet to reach an amicable agreement on SOPs. Yesterday, Punjab transporters announced to slash fares by 18 percent after successful talks with the Punjab government. The Punjab govt had demanded transporters to decrease fares across the province in order to provide relief to people amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday granted in-principle approval for resumption of public transport across the province. The Karachi transporters’ association on Sunday announced to operate their vehicles in the city from Monday, newsmen reported. Karachi Transport Alliance (KTA) president announced resuming inter-city bus service from May 18, saying that they held several meetings with Sindh Transport Minister Syed Awais Qadir Shah, but the Sindh government didn’t fulfill its promise of resuming public transport before Eid. “We stopped our operations on April 19 at the request of Sindh transport minister. Despite several assertions, the Sindh govt didn’t allow us to resume public transport, said KTA president. On the other hand, Hyderabad transporters’ held a protest at Badin bus stand and chanted slogans against Sindh govt for not allowing to resume inter-district bus service. The transporters’ said that they will resume public transport from Wednesday as many passengers wanted to return back to their homes before Eid.
