Sindh increases virus testing capacity to 6,550

864 new cases reported in Sindh on Monday, with 657 from Karachi alone

KARACHI: Claiming that Sindh was far ahead of other provinces in terms of testing capacity for the novel coronavirus, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah stated that the province was now able to conduct 6,550 tests a day.

In a statement issued on Monday, Shah said that there were 19 laboratories in the province testing samples for Covid-19, adding that they were operating at 77 per cent of their capacity.

Sharing updates about the coronavirus outbreak in Sindh, he apprised that 864 people were diagnosed with the virus out of the 4,679 samples tested on the day. The tally has soared to 17,241 in the province, while a total of 127,573 people have been tested for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, three more coronavirus patients lost their lives, pushing the death toll to 280 in Sindh.

The CM further informed that 12,472 patients were under treatment at the moment; of them, 11,095 people were isolated at their homes, 815 at quarantine centres and 562 in hospitals. He added that 136 patients were in critical condition and 29 of them had been put on ventilators.

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On the other hand, 280 more patients had recovered from the virus and been discharged. "So far, 4,489 [coronavirus] patients have regained health, which makes the recovery rate around 26 per cent," he said. "The recovery ratio in the province has been stagnant and we were trying to improve it further."

Moreover, out of 864 new cases, 657 belonged to Karachi alone, he shared, adding that 171 cases were detected in East, 141 in Malir, 117 in South, 94 in Central, 75 in Korangi, and 59 cases in West district.

Furthermore, 31 more people contracted Covid-19 in Ghotki, 30 in Hyderabad, 21 in Larkana, 17 in Sukkur, seven in Qambar-Shahdadkot, five in Kashmore, two each in Matiari and Naushero Feroze, and one each in Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur and Jamshoro.