-Overall tally surges past 453
-Sindh reports highest number of confirmed cases
-61-year-old patient recovers and discharged from PIMS Islamabad
-Provinces on verge of complete lockdown
From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: 28 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus emerged in Karachi on Thursday, pushing the total number of COVID-19 patients to 245 in Sindh and 448 in Pakistan.
According to the provincial health authorities, all the new cases surfaced in the port city.
Sindh has so far reported the highest number of coronavirus cases with 151 in Sukkur, 93 in Karachi, and one in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, a third patient of the COVID-19 was released today from a hospital after recovery.
The patient was a resident of Hyderabad and was diagnosed in Karachi.
Murtaza Wahab, a spokesperson for the provincial government, in a tweet said: “Third patient of #COVID?19 in #Sindh who was being kept in isolation has Alhamdolillah recovered & has tested negative.”
Earlier today, Punjab Health Minister Yasmeen Rashid confirmed that 45 new coronavirus cases have been detected in the province.
Addressing a press conference, she announced that the tally of cases in Punjab has climbed to 78 after 45 more tested positive for COVID-19.
Balochistan on Thursday also reported 22 more coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said Thursday 78 people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the province.
Speaking to the media here in the provincial capital, Dr Rashid said 320 of the 384 total samples tested were negative and 78 were positive. Of these, 60 were pilgrims, she added.
Dr Rashid said that patients were immediately isolated once it was confirmed that they are carrying the virus. “If patients diagnosed with coronavirus are kept together, the pandemic doesn’t spread,” the provincial minister said. At least two cases have been recorded in Gujrat, both of whom were being treated in Gujrat Hospital, she said.
She explained that the people coming from abroad knew they were infected with the coronavirus. “All patients who have tested positive arrived from abroad,” she added.
Dr Rashid said Punjab had more than 500 rooms ready for isolation purposes. The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), she added, had a Level-3 laboratory and had been given half of the total COVID-19 testing kits.
“We have kept the rest [of the kits] ourselves,” she added.
The provincial health minister mentioned that madressahs, colleges, and universities had been closed down and that everything — including malls — would be shut down by 10pm at night. “Try and stay within your homes,” she cautioned.
Speaking of Iran, she said the situation there was extremely grave. The country “has said it is facing difficulties in supporting its people” and has, therefore, asked to take some of its patients as a gesture of compassion.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan have jumped to 390 after Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa announced an increase in their provincial tallies.
Punjab government spokesperson Musarrat Cheema has confirmed the fresh positive cases of the COVID-19 in a tweet.
As of Thursday 14 people have been tested positive of the virus in Lahore, 4 in Gujrat and 60 Zaireen (DG Khan 55, Multan 5).
According to the statement issued by the Sindh health ministry, as much as 217 cases of the novel coronavirus have emerged with 151 in Sukkur, 65 in Karachi and one in Hyderabad.
Earlier, Sindh CM spokesperson Murtaza Wahab wrote on his Twitter handle that the total number of COVID-19 cases in Karachi are at 61 and one in Hyderabad. Out of the pilgrims in isolation, 151 tested positive for the virus bringing Sindh’s tally to 213.
Meanwhile, K-P confirmed four new cases pushing the provincial tally to 23.
Authorities in Balochistan have also confirmed 29 fresh cases of the contagious disease.
As the number of coronavirus cases has swelled to 45 in Balochistan, the provincial government has imposed a ban on the public transport and declared the health emergency across the province to contain the deadly epidemic.
Provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said that employees of transport companies including drivers and conductors will be provided with the relief package.
According to Commissioner Gilgit Usman Ahmad, eight more cases of the novel coronavirus tested positive in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), taking the toll to 21.
The country had 382 confirmed cases of the deadly pneumonia-like virus that has infected over 200,000 people across the globe and caused over 9,000 deaths.
Punjab confirmed 33 cases on Wednesday night while Balochistan reported 23, G-B confirmed 13, Islamabad five and Azad Jammu and Kashmir one.
Pakistan confirmed its first two deaths in K-P and the two patients passed away within hours of each other.
The numbers will change as new information comes in.
The government of Sindh on Thursday decided to distribute two million ration bags across the province in a meeting to review novel coronavirus situation.
A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, also attended by the Corps Commander Karachi, Chief Secretary and Secretary Health among others.
The rations bags will be stuffed with rice, wheat flour, ghee, sugar, tea, pulses and spices.
The meeting also decided to establish a field hospital and isolation centre for Covid-19 at Expo Centre Karachi in collaboration with the armed forces.
It was decided that the teams of the government and the corps commander will work in tandem.
The Sindh government team will be headed by provincial education minister Saeed Ghani, while Brigadier Samee will lead the team of the Corps Commander Karachi.
Chief Minister Murad Ali talking in the meeting said that the coronavirus could be halted with minimum travel and continued screening adding that Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea have controlled the rapid speed of the virus infection.
“It is a global crisis which demands the world leaders’ summit to devise a joint strategy to address the emergency,” chief minister observed.
“We have taken all out steps to control transmission of the disease,” Shah said.
He called for ban on big gatherings and imposition of strict quarantine. “In Sukkur 151 people arrived from Taftan diagnosed positive.”
Across Sindh 788 tests were conducted and 60 of them found infected with the disease, he said.
He told the session that a third patient has recovered from Covid-19 in Sindh, which is a good omen.
Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Thursday said that Pakistan cannot afford a lockdown as country’s economic situation is not the same as that of Europe.
Talking to media after visiting arrangements at Karachi airport, he said that poor people and daily wage workers will be affected by locking down cities.
“PM Imran is monitoring the situation on a daily basis. There is no confusion between provinces and federation,” added Imran Ismail.
He further said that the nation can defeat coronavirus by implementing the precautionary measures announced by the government. He advised the nation to avoid and suspend all type of gatherings in order to beat novel coronavirus.
Sindh Health Department on Thursday revealed three more that tested positive for the fast-spreading COVID-19, novel coronavirus in the province.
The three new cases have been reported from the metropolis increasing the total count of coronavirus positive individuals in Sindh to 211.
The number of novel covid-19 in the country had increased to 299 with two confirmed deaths of persons returning home from foreign countries.
The deceased persons belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan and Hangu regions.
The deceased man Saadat Khan, resident of Mardan had been tested positive for coronavirus on March 17 after arriving back to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah on March 9.
Another patient 36-year-old resident of Hangu also succumbed to the deadly virus infection.
The Pakistan Railways Thursday decided to suspend the operation of eight trains to Karachi in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the trains will be discontinued from March 25 and the decision has been taken on the Sindh government’s request.
The federal minister clarified that the financial situation of the company is not good enough to refund money to the passengers; however, alternate arrangements will be made for them.
It is pertinent here to mention that officials had earlier recommended the Ministry of Railways to halt or limit train operation as the administration was facing difficulties in taking the precautionary measures.
Punjab Government has given leaves to its employees in wake of the coronavirus and also stop public entry of citizens in the government offices.
Services and General Administration Department has issued a notification in this regard. As per the notification the government has decided to call a few government employees for a meeting.
The officers will attend the meeting via video Link on Skype.
