-49 police, Rangers personnel contract Coronavirus
-39 more healthcare workers tested positive
-Country-wide tally exceeds 15,500 as 3,500 recover after treatment
From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Sindh recorded 404 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, which is the highest number of infections in the province so far, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
In a video statement, he said that eight more people have died during the past 24 hours in the province, taking the number of people who have died from the disease to 100. He said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sindh has reached 5659 while a total of 51,790 tests have been conducted so far, including 3729 done over the past 24 hours.
Moreover, 4426 patients of coronavirus have been under treatment including 3187 have been isolated at homes, the chief minister said. At isolation centres 762 patients have been admitted and 477 under treatment at hospitals, he added. Murad Ali Shah said that 39 fresh cases of coronavirus reported from Karachi’s District Central, 113 cases in District South, 100 in District East, 26 cases from District West, 37 cases in Korangi and 17 cases from District Malir.
Moreover, 14 cases reported in Sukkur, 13 each in Larkana and Khairpur and 7 cases at Shikarpur, Syed Murad Ali Shah said.
Spokesman for the Sindh government Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday said that overall 49 personnel of Sindh police and Rangers have contracted coronavirus while performing their duties to implement lockdown orders, media reported.
“45 officers and members of police have contracted the virus while four Rangers personnel also tested positive for it,” said Murtaza Wahab while appealing masses to act respectfully while dealing with the law enforcement personnel.
He said that they have taken many difficult decisions to control coronavirus outbreak in the province and its implementation was impossible without the support of the Rangers and police personnel.
“They perform their duties on the roads day and night to avoid outbreak of the virus,” he said.
Murtaza Wahab appealed to the masses to act jointly to fight against the virus and stay indoors. He prayed to Almighty Allah to save people from the infection.
Earlier in the day, Sindh recorded 404 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, which is the highest number of infections in the province so far, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
In a video statement, he said that eight more people have died during the past 24 hours in the province, taking the number of people who have died from the disease to 100. He said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sindh has reached 5659 while a total of 51,790 tests have been conducted so far, including 3729 done over the past 24 hours.
Moreover, 4426 patients of coronavirus have been under treatment including 3187 have been isolated at homes, the chief minister said. At isolation centres 762 patients have been admitted and 477 under treatment at hospitals, he added.
Murad Ali Shah said that 39 fresh cases of coronavirus reported from Karachi’s District Central, 113 cases in District South, 100 in District East, 26 cases from District West, 37 cases in Korangi and 17 cases from District Malir.
Moreover, 14 cases reported in Sukkur, 13 each in Larkana and Khairpur and 7 cases at Shikarpur, Syed Murad Ali Shah said.
At least 39 healthcare providers on the frontline of the fight against the novel coronavirus have been infected with the infection in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, according to a report. Those diagnosed with the deadly virus included 17 doctors, six nurses and 16 health workers. Of the total, six doctors and 13 paramedics tested positive for the infection in Balochistan, while eight doctors, a nurse and a health worker have been affected by the disease in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In Punjab, a doctor, five nurses and a health worker have been affected by the pathogen.
In Sindh, two doctors have been diagnosed as positive for the novel coronavirus during this period.
The report said at least two doctors died from the infection in the country during the last 24 hours. Both deaths were reported from Sindh. The total number of health care providers who have been affected by the disease thus far stands at 438, including 210 doctors, 67 nurses and 161 health workers. At least 200 health professionals have self-isolated while 137 are under treatment in various hospitals with 94 healthcare givers recuperated from the infection so far.
A total of 58 doctors, 21 nurses and 23 paramedics have been infected with the virus in Punjab so far. Whereas, Sindh has seen 34 doctors, 17 nurses, and 33 paramedics contracting the infection.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the number of doctors, nurses and paramedics affected by the pathogen stands at 50, 14 and 38 respectively. In Islamabad, 16 medics, 10 nurses and 13 paramedics have been infected with the disease.
In Gilgit Baltistan, a medic, a nurse and 16 paramedics have been diagnosed with the virus. Whereas, 50 doctors, four nurses and 35 paramedics have fallen victim to the disease in Balochistan. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid on Wednesday inaugurated a Bio-Safety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory at the Institute of Public Health.
According to the health department, the province now has seven functional labs with increased testing capacity. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said quarantine centres established across the province have the capacity to house 28,000 suspected Covid-19 patients. He said the government is trying hard to ramp up the province’s testing capacity.
The minister said every institution will have to play its role in the fight against the coronavirus. She said the total number of people who have contracted the virus in the province has reached 5,730, of whom 1,380 have recuperated from the disease so far. As many as 75,000 tests have been conducted in the province till recently, she added.
Yasmin Rashid said the province is capable of conducting 4,000 to 5,000 tests a day. The fourth consignment of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for doctors and health workers of Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan is being dispatched by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Spokesperson of NDMA said on Wednesday that these PPE include surgical masks, N-95 masks, protective gowns, gloves, shoe covers, surgical head covers, face shields, protective goggles, and sanitizers.
He said that fourth consignment of PPEs to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has already been sent.
Provision of PPEs is also continuing to hospitals of Punjab, Sindh, and Azad Kashmir, the NDMA spokesperson added.
