CM orders strict steps as District East reports 22pc, Hyderabad 19pc positive Covid cases

Covid-19 positivity has reached 22 per cent in District East of Karachi, followed by Hyderabad where the detection rate has soared to 19 per cent, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Monday, and directed the district administrations to take strict measures to implement the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in both the districts.

Presiding over a meeting of the Covid-19 Task Force at the CM House, he observed that during the last seven days, the virus had hit new highs in Karachi East, where the detection rate had reached 22 per cent, Hyderabad 19 per cent, District South 13 per cent and District Central 10 per cent.

“It is imperative to take strict measures to contain the spread of the virus in these two districts as well as in other areas where the disease is spreading like a wildfire,” he added.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Saeed Ghani, Jam Ikram Dharejo, and Nasir Shah, law adviser Murtaza Wahab, Parliamentary Secretary Qasim Siraj Soomro, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mahar, ACS Home Usman Chachar, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Commissioner Karachi Naveed Shaikh, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi, Secretary School Education Ahmed Bux Narejo, Secretary Health Kazim Jatoi, Dr Bari, Dr Faisal, NED VC Dr Saeed Qureshi, representatives of Corps 5, Rangers and WHO.

Sharing district-wise weekly data from April 26 to May 2 of positive cases, it was disclosed that the 5,609 samples were tested in Karachi-East which detected 1,257 cases that constituted a 22 per cent detection rate. In Hyderabad, 1,336 cases were detected against 6,962 tests, and the positivity rate came to 19 per cent. Karachi South reported 13 per cent positive cases, where 732 cases were detected after 5,842 tests were conducted.

In Karachi, District Central 4,255 tests were conducted and 414 people tested positive, which constituted 10 per cent. Similarly, Korangi has seven per cent positive cases, Malir, Sukkur and Khairpur have six per cent each, Karachi’s West, Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushehroferoze, Matiari and Larkana five per cent cases.

The chief minister directed provincial ministers Saeed Ghani, Jam Ikram Dharejo and Nasir Shah and law adviser Murtaza Wahab to keep visiting the badly affected districts to ensure the implementation of SOPs in letter and spirit.

“The district administration and the police must take coercive action against the business units defying government orders in respect of working hours and enforcement of SOPs,” he said.

The last 15 days’ (April 19 to May 3) comparative analyses showed that the death rate per million in Sindh was recorded at two, 11 in AJK, one in Balochistan, three in Gilgit-Baltistan, 25 in Islamabad, 14 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 10 in Punjab. Similarly, 420 cases per million were detected in AJK, 136 in Balochistan, 97 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 3,065 in Islamabad, 382 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 333 in Punjab and 269 in Sindh.

The chief minister was told that there were 666 beds with ventilators in Sindh. Of them, 50 were occupied and 454 vacant.

Similarly, Sindh has the facility of 1872 HDU beds. Of them, 343 are occupied and 1,529 are vacant. The daily usage of oxygen has been recorded at 35,089 m3. The chief minister directed the administration and police department to strengthen their coordination and enforce implementation of the SOPs. It was pointed out that people were hosting Iftar parties at their homes, and that this would cause the spread of the virus.

The chief minister directed the Karachi commissioner to stop such gatherings and launch an awareness campaign. He also directed the commissioner not to allow any shop operating after 6pm, except those which had been given exemptions.

Eleven die

Eleven more people have died due to Covid-19 and 895 others have tested positive for the disease during the past 24 hours in Sindh, with the death toll due to the viral coronavirus infection reaching 4,678 in the province.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily situation report on the health emergency on Monday that 12,696 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, resulting in 895 people, or over seven per cent of those who were screened, being diagnosed with Covid-19.

The provincial government has so far conducted 3,680,680 tests, which have resulted in 286,520 positive cases, which means that eight per cent of those screened have been found to be infected, he added.

He said that 16,066 patients across the province are currently infected: 15,430 are in self-isolation at home, five at isolation centres and 631 at hospitals, while 592 patients are in critical condition, of whom 53 are on life support.

He said that out of the 895 fresh cases of Sindh, 426 (or 48 per cent) have been reported in Karachi Division alone: 221 of them are from District East, 64 from District Malir, 63 from District Central, 60 from District South, 12 from District Korangi and six from District West.

In other districts of Sindh, Hyderabad has reported 146 new cases, Jamshoro 45, Larkana 43, Naushehroferoze 41, Kashmore 38, Mirpurkhas 36, Khairpur 24, Dadu and Kambar 17 each, Sanghar 14, Matiari 13, Sukkur and Nawabshah nine each, Badin three, Shikarpur, Jacobabad and Ghotki two each, and Umerkot one, he added.