Zubair Qureshi
Islamabad
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has jumped to 10,503 after 533 new infections were reported during the past 24 hours, on Wednesday.
According to National Command and Operation Centre, 4,590 cases have so far been detected in Punjab, 3,373 in Sindh, 1,453 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 552 in Balochistan, 290 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 194 in Islamabad Capital Territory and 51 in Azad Kashmir.
2,156 patients have recovered from the disease, while 17 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll currently stands at 209.
As many as 58 corona patients are in critical condition while 5,637 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, according to the statistics released by the national dashboard.
Currently, 7,384 patients are being treated at various hospitals and quarantine facilities across the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday tested negative for the novel coronavirus, his focal person on Covid-19 Dr Faisal Sultan and government’s chief spokesperson Firdous Ashiq Awan confirmed on Twitter.
The premier was tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus strain that causes Covid-19, on Wednesday. The test used was a polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
“I am happy to report that his test is NEGATIVE,” wrote Dr Sultan.
Earlier, on April 15, Mr Edhi met with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad to present him with a Rs10 million cheque for the Corona Relief Fund.
As coronavirus tally crossed the 10,000-mark on Wednesday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has cautioned the nation next three to four weeks would be very critical for Pakistan. The health authorities fear an unprecedented number of deaths during next 21 to 24 days as virus is spreading on fast-track playing havoc with the lives across the country.
According to the data,10,072 people have so far been diagnosed with coronavirus across the country. Punjab has reported 4, 331 cases, the highest among all provinces while in Sindh 3,373 cases
were reported, Khyber Pakthunkhwa’s (KP) number is 1,345 cases, Balochistan 495 cases, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) 283 cases, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 194 cases, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 51.
So are 2,156 persons have recovered whereas 212 lost their lives due to the virus.
Briefing the media about the continuing impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Dr Zafar Mirza said, “In the last 24 hours, we have received the highest number of deaths ie 17 from COVID-19. This is the third time, he said that 17 persons died because of virus in a period of 24 hours.
Dr Mirza said people were not observing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and there was a general sense of indifference toward the spread of COVID-19.
