Staff Reporter
Karachi / Islamabad
Provincial authorities on Tuesday confirmed 52 new cases of the novel coronavirus in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, pushing the country’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 237.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra announced one more confirmed case of COVID-19, pushing the provincial tally to 16.
“… [We] have received news of one new positive case of #coronavirus in Abbottabad. The gentleman has come to Pakistan from the UK. This takes K-P total cases to 16. He has been home quarantined since he displayed no symptoms,” he wrote on his official Twitter handle. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, from his official Twitter handle announced 18 fresh cases in the province. “On the basis of test reports, of suspected patients, I can confirm that the number of confirmed #coronavirus patients is now 26,” he wrote.
“We are testing all the suspected patients and 736 Zaireen (pilgrims) quarantined in DG Khan, 1,276 Zaireen coming from Taftan will also be quarantined,” he added.Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani, meanwhile, confirmed six new cases in the provinces, raising its tally to 16. “Patients are being treated in isolation ward of Sheikh Khalifah Bin Zayyad Hospital [in Quetta],” he was quoted as saying. Advisor to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Information Murtaza Wahab announced the new cases through Twitter. Wahab said a total of 274 pilgrims were tested out of which 134 tested positive in Sukkur.
In the rest of Sindh, 38 patients tested positive out of which 36 are under treatment while two have recovered. Five out of the latest patients had recently returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Overall, Sindh has 172 confirmed cases while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has 16, Balochistan has 16, Islamabad four, Gilgit-Baltistan three, Punjab 26 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir has reported none till now.
The situational report provided by the National Institute of Health early Tuesday claimed the country’s tally at 187 with 150 confirmed cases in Sindh, 15 in K-P, 14 in Balochistan, four in Islamabad, three in G-B and one in Punjab. There were a total of 499 COVID-19 tests performed across the country during the last 24 hours.
Four patients have been discharged after recovering – one in Islamabad and three in Sindh. However, the Sindh Health Department puts the tally at two. According to NIH, a total of 995,821 travellers have been screened at entry points so far out of which 20,187 travelers were checked in the 24 hours.
The total number of suspected patients in the country stands at 533, with around 100 being added to the number during the last 24 hours.
The varying stats paint a dismissal picture of coordination between the federal and provincial governments. The Sindh government has come out criticising Centre for lack of foresight in quarantine arrangements in Taftan where over 9,000 pilgrims returning from Iran had been quarantined by the Balochistan government in a ‘tent city’.
Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani said the quarantine facilities in Taftan on the Iranian border were inadequate, which resulted in large numbers of coronavirus cases.
After completing the 14-day incubation period, the pilgrims were allowed to travel back to their cities. However, Sindh and K-P sent the pilgrims to isolation facilities in Sukkur and Dera Ismail Khan and tested them before allowing further travel. So far 119 pilgrims tested positive in Sindh and another 15 in K-P.
The Sindh government on Tuesday decided to close all restaurants and shopping malls across the province for 15 days from today to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as number of patients who tested positive has surpassed 170 in Sindh alone.
All government offices will also be shut in the province from March 19, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister House on Tuesday. However, the official communique said that the closure will not be applicable for the groceries and medical stores.
“All restaurants, malls, shopping centres will be closed in Sindh. Only takeaways and deliveries will be allowed. Section 144 also to be imposed at beach and parks. It is clarified that shopping stores and chemists will remain open. Citizens are once again urged to cooperate,” Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said in a tweet from his official handle on Tuesday.
Chief Minsiter Murad Ali Shah has said that the if the coronavirus turns into a outbreak, the situation will become out of control. Decision comes after Sindh witnessed a rapid increase in the cases of contagious disease with 172 people, mostly arrived from Iran, tested positive.
Moreover, the Sindh government has also established a coronavirus relief fund with the “seed money of Rs3 billion”.
The chief minister, provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants and all Pakistan People’s Party lawmakers will contribute their one month salary to the fund, Murtaza Wahab also wrote on his official Twitter handle.
An important meeting was chaired by Sindh chief minister on the situation caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the province where Shah directed the authorities to distribute soaps and hand sanitizers in the rural areas.
The CM also directed to convert one block of Labour Colony in Sukkur into hospital while he has also ordered to immediately buy test kits and other equipments.
