Staff Reporter
Karachi
The emergency department of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, one of Karachi’s biggest public hospitals, was sealed on Sunday after a doctor tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A senior official at the hospital told media that the chief medical officer at ASH tested positive for Covid-19. Dr Saleem Shaikh added that the emergency department was sealed around 3pm after the doctor’s test came back positive.
At least 253 healthcare providers and medical workers have been infected with the coronavirus in Pakistan so far, according to data shared by the National Emergency Operation Centre earlier this week.
Meanwhile, with 600 new confirmed Corona cases on Sunday, the nationwide toll of Covid-19 patients stood at 13,328 with 5,446 cases in Punjab, 4,615 in Sindh, 1,864 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 781 in Balochistan, 318 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 245 in Islamabad and 59 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus claimed 16 lives in the last 24 hours in the country raising the death toll to 277 in Pakistan. Five more deaths were reported from KP. Seventy-eight patients are in critical condition while at least 2,866 patients have recovered.
Eighty-one per cent of cases are local transmissions while 19 per cent are through foreign travel, a centre reported.
Another 71 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the provincial health department, taking the total to 1,864. The health department added that 30 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the total to 515. Two local bodies officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa have been tested positive for coronavirus.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that three deaths and 383 new coronavirus cases were reported in the province during the past 24 hours, was the highest number since February 26, when the first case emerged in Pakistan.
In a video message, the chief minister said: “This is the highest figure ever reported during the 61 days of the Covid-19 emergency.
“This illustrates that the situation is going from bad to worse and that we will have to take extraordinary measures to get it under control.” He added that 3,028 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, which was the highest number of tests carried out in a single day.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to increase restrictions at the entry points of the region. The decision was taken by AJK PM Raja Farooq Haider in a meeting chaired to review the coronavirus situation in the country. The conference also decided that those coming to the region will not be allowed to exit till Eid. Sixty cases were recorded in Balochistan. Government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani confirmed one more death in the province. Another doctor has tested positive for coronavirus in Quetta, Young Doctors Association president said Sunday. He added that till now 30 doctors had been infected with the virus in the province.
At least 50 people in Gilgit-Baltistan have contracted Covid-19 due to a lack of precautionary measures, according to Dr Fida Hussain, the Pakistan Medical Association GB’s General Secretary. “Similarly, seven paramedical staff from City Hospital also tested positive for the coronavirus. This is an extremely alarming situation,” he added.
Hussain requested the government to enforce a stricter lockdown in the region and said that it was “unfair” that salaries of frontline parademics were
being cut during a lethal pandemic.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan said that he has observed “socialisation” in bazaars and appealed to citizens to maintain social distancing.
“A lot of people in villages are still not taking it seriously. We are doing [social distancing] for each other, for our families, for our society. I appeal to you to not take this lightly,” he said.
“If this pandemic spreads and the rush to hospitals increases, it will get out of our hands. Even doctors will not be able to do anything,” he warned.Three doctors and three nurses at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology recovered from the coronavirus after they were tested negative, said hospital management.