Corona claims 23 more lives in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The death toll due to coronavirus across the country surged to 192 as 23 deaths reported in last 24 years.

The confirmed cases hiked to 9,193 as Punjab reported 4,195 cases, Sindh 2,764, Balochistan 465, KP 1,276, AJK 49 and Islamabad 181 while 1,975 patients recovered from the deadly disease.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza said that the local transmission was becoming dominant cause of spread of COVID-19 during last few days, which was reported at 65 percent.

Dr Mirza, in a televised briefing on COVID-19, said that due to government’s effective and prompt measures besides preventive measures adopted by the citizens, the cases fatality rate was still low in Pakistan, against the global mortality rate.

He, however, said that still there were threats of spread of the disease and advised the citizens to strictly follow the social distancing and other precautionary measures to stem the increase in coronavirus cases.

He said that citizens should continue implementing protective measures as per health officials’ directions to prevent from carrying coronavirus and stop any spread due local transmission.

He said that a briefing was given to foreign diplomats at National Control and Operation Centre (NCOC). He added they appreciated the efforts of the government in fight against COVID-19. He said that due to closure of OPDs, patients were facing issues.

He added the government was working on different aspects to address the issues of these patients. He said that during meeting with the President and the Prime Minister, Ulema have pledged to follow SOPs during Ramzanul Mubarak.

Sharing breakup of corona cases, Dr Zafar Mirza said 104,302 tests had been conducted in Pakistan so far with 4,178 tests during last 24 hours. He said that in in total deaths, 74 percent were male and 82 percent were above 80 years of age.

He said that the government had tried its level best to control the disease and added that the federal government had prepared standard operating procedures (SOPs), which had also been shared with the provinces for their implementation by the manufacturing units, retailers, shops and industries, which were being opened.

He said that the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations were also included in the SOPs. He added it will be the responsibility of owners and employers mainly to ensure implementation of all required preventive measures including social distancing and avoiding rush of customers.

Meanwhile, the death of one more patient of COVID-19 in Lahore took the death toll to 42 in the Punjab province, while the confirmed cases of novel coronavirus reached 4,111 with the addition of 35 new cases on Monday.

According to details, a 57-year-old patient died of coronavirus at Mayo Hospital, which raised the total number of casualties to 19 in Lahore.

Therefore, out of the total death of 42 patients in Punjab so far, as many as 19 casualties occurred in Lahore, nine in Rawalpindi, six in Multan, two each in Rahim Yar Khan and Gujrat and one each in Bahawalpur, Jhelum, Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh.

After contradictory reports of possible closure of Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) circulated after a number of healthcare providers tested positive for the virus, PIC’s Chief Executive Officer Prof Saqib Shafi said that Emergency and OPD would continue to function as per routine. “Cardiac patients need attention and immediate treatment. We cannot close the PIC as it is matter of life and death for serious cardiac patients,” he said, adding, the decision regarding resumption of emergency surgeries would be taken during next couple of days.

Out of total confirmed 4,111 Covid-19 patients in Punjab, 1540 are Tablighi Jamaat members, 701 pilgrims returning from Iran, 94 prisoners in eight districts and 1,386 citizens who either had travel history or fell victim to local transmission.

Of the 1,540 confirmed Covid-19 preachers, 577 were reported from Raiwind Markaz, 145 Sargodha, 119 Multan, 76 Lodhran, 63 Bhakkar, 61 Muzaffargarh, 45 Rahim Yar Khan, 41 Jhelum, 39 Bahawalpur, 38 Layyah, 37 Vehari, 35 Hafizabad, 30 Rawalpindi, 28 Nankana Sahib, 26 Narowal, 23 Khushab, 22 Sialkot, 21 Gujranwala, 18 Faisalabad, 17 each Bahawalnagar and Mandi Bahauddin, 12 Sheikhupura, 10 Gujrat, nine Rajanpur, eight Sahiwal, seven Mianwali, six each Khanewal and Attock and two Okara.