Five graveyards designated for coronavirus victims in Karachi

City mayor says says funds have been requested to turn KMC hospitals into COVID-19 centres

KARACHI: Five cemeteries have been designated for burials of those who have died due to coronavirus, Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar said on Monday.

Visiting Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, the mayor revealed that coronavirus victims would be buried at the Mohammed Shah, Surjani, Mowach Goth, Korangi No. 6 and Gulshan-e-Zia graveyards.

He said that only a few close relatives of the deceased could enter the cemetery for burial, adding that the body would be brought into the cemetery with protective measures and no last sighting would be allowed.

Akhtar also stated that he had written to the National Disaster Management Authority, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and the Sindh government requesting funds to provide essential equipment and ventilators to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation hospitals, enabling them to assist in the efforts against the pandemic.

23 Sukkur pilgrims, 4 Karachiites discharged after ‘tested twice negative of coronavirus’

According to Akhtar, the initial phase of fumigation had been completed in all the city's districts, while arrangements were being made for the second phase.

He also mentioned that the pensions of retired employees had been paid, while the salaries of officers and employees would be paid this week.

The mayor distributed protective gear to the doctors and paramedical staff at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, telling them to ensure their safety first.

Currently, the authorities in Sindh conducted 5,945 tests, with Karachi has 249 COVID-19 cases, Hyderabad 12 and Dadu and Jacobabad one each.

Meanwhile, 265 pilgrims have so far tested positive at Sukkur quarantine facility and seven in Larkana. Six people have lost their lives due to the global pandemic  in the province.

The nationwide tally of COVID-19 patients has crossed 1,700 with 638 in Punjab, 152 in Balochistan, 195 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 136 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 51 in Islamabad and six in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has so far claimed 21 lives in Pakistan, while 55 COVID-19 patients have fully recovered.