The Sindh health department has started the screening for the COVID-19 in 12 districts of Sindh on the instructions of Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho.
The department has identified 1,950 people from the Tablighi Jamaat who attended the Raiwind gathering, the health minister said on Monday. Most of them are elderly and vulnerable to the virus, she added. “It has been decided to screen them due to increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the province,” said Dr Pechuho.
“We have identified 241 members in Hyderabad, 248 in Tando Allah Yar, 128 in Umerkot, 307 in Nawabshah and 66 in Jamshoro,” he added. The next round of screening will be carried out on 105 members in Tando Muhammad Khan, 222 in Dadu, 44 in Matiari, 231 in Naushero Feroz 231, 242 in Thatta and 105 in Badin. “The screening process has begun today and will be completed in three phases,” said the provincial health minister.
After this screening, it will be decided which people are to be tested. The number of known COVID-19 cases in Sindh is now 1,452. Forty-one new cases were reported on Monday morning. So far 419 people have recovered and 31 have died of the virus. At least, 13,840 tests have been conducted in Sindh.
A committee was formed in Sindh on Friday to study and evaluate the experimental use of convalescent plasma for passive immunisation against COVID-19.