762 new Covid-19 cases, 14 more deaths in Sindh

Tally of infected persons reaches 21,645, death toll hits 354

KARACHI: As many as 762 new coronavirus cases have been detected after 4,336 tests were conducted, while 14 more patients have died, according to a statement issued by Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday.

Shah revealed that with the addition of the 4,336 tests the total number of tests conducted by the Sindh government has reached 153,902, and the resultant positive cases are 21,645, which constitutes 14 per cent of the total tests.

The CM also stated that with the 14 new deaths, the provincial death toll had risen to 354 which accounts for 1.6 per cent of the total patients.

He added that of the 14,078 patients under treatment, 12,424 have been quarantined at their homes, 794 in isolation centres and 860 at hospitals. Shah maintained that 155 patients are in critical condition and 34 have been put on ventilators.

On a positive note, however, Shah disclosed that 198 patients had been discharged, bringing the number of recovered patients in the province to 7,213. “Our [Sindh’s] recovery ratio stands at 33.4 per cent,” he added.

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He further shared that of the new cases, 618 cases came from Karachi, showing that local transmission was still happening rapidly in the metropolis. The break-up of cases in the city shows that there are 190 new cases in East district, 115 in South district, 112 in Central district, 81 in Malir district, 76 in Korangi district and 44 in West district, he stated.

Meanwhile, the CM informed that 20 new cases had emerged in Larkana, 15 each in in Hyderabad and Khairpur, eight in Shaheed Benazirabad, three in Qambar-Shahdadkot, two each in in Jacobabad and Mirpurkhas, and one in each of Thatta, Badin, Tharparkar and Jamshoro.

He also stated that 5,051 Pakistanis stranded abroad had been brought back to Karachi via 28 fights between April 18 and May 5. As many as 976 of them had tested positive for Covid-19, he revealed.

Shah urged people to remain at home and avoid unnecessarily crowding markets or other shopping areas, adding that this was in the public’s interest. Otherwise, he warned, they could be carriers of the virus for their own families.