COVID-19 claims 34 more lives, infects another 1,155 in Sindh

As many as 34 more people lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the province, mostly in Karachi, during the last 24 hours, said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday.

Now, he added, the coronavirus death toll had hit reached 1,922 in the province. “We have lost 34 more lives due to COVID-19 in the province, of whom the majority died at health facilities and at homes in Karachi. Now, the death toll stands at 1,922 in Sindh,” the CM said in his daily COVID-19 situation report.

The chief minister said 1,155 fresh coronavirus cases surfaced when 10,574 samples were tested in Sindh in a day, constituting an 11 per cent detection rate.

So far, he added, 615,302 tests had been conducted which detected 110,068 positive cases all over Sindh, which meant an 18 per cent overall detection ratio.

Currently, he said, 34,070 patients were under treatment, of whom 33,094 were in home isolation, 53 were at isolation centres and 923 at different hospitals. “The condition of 738 patients is critical, of whom 105 have been shifted to ventilators,” he said.

According to the CM, 3,775 more patients recovered from the virus and returned to normal life. “The total number of patients recovered so far has reached 74,076, constituting a 67 per cent recovery rate.”

Murad said that out of 1,155 new cases, 407 cases had been detected in Karachi. Karachi’s east district had 120 cases, south 104, central 64, Malir 49, Korangi 45 and west 25, he added.

The CM said Shaheed Benazirabad had 53 cases, Khairpur 49, Larkana 40, Ghotki 41, Sukkur 38, Naushehroferoze 37, Hyderabad 33, Jacobabad 29, Thatta 21, Badin 19, Sanghar 18, Matiari 18, Kambar 17, Shikarpur 16, Jamshoro 15, Kashmore 14, Mirpurkhas 13, Dadu 14, Sujawal 10, Umerkot five, TM. Khan one.

The chief minister once again urged the people of the province to stay safe by wearing masks while going out of home, wash and sanitise hands, and ensure social distancing. A day earlier, the chief minister had said the rate of COVID-19 spread had started to decline in Sindh as only 1,140 people had so far been tested positive for the viral disease in the province during the last 24 hours. He had added that 11,060 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours in the province.

The CM had said that for the first time 4,872 patients had recovered overnight, raising the tally of patients recovered so far to 70,292 that constituted 65 per cent of the total patients.