May the deadliest month for Covid-19: Sindh CM

Murad Ali Shah says 363 patients succumbed to virus in May, with 16 deaths on Sunday

KARACHI: May has proved to be the deadliest month so far in terms of Covid-19 deaths, remarked Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday, as he reported that the coronavirus had claimed 16 more lives in the province while 885 new cases were detected over the past 24 hours.

"The first infection-related death was reported in March, which saw total nine deaths of Covid-19 patients, followed by 109 in April," he said, adding that in May, 363 patients succumbed to the virus, making it the deadliest month yet.

And with 16 more deaths, Sindh’s death toll had climbed to 481, the CM observed.

Besides, May also witnessed the tragic death of 97 people aboard the ill-fate plane the crashed in Model Colony, he rued. "In this way, [at least] 515 deaths were recorded in the month," he remarked.

On a different note, the CM said that 885 more coronavirus were reported in the province as of Sunday, following which the virus tally rose to 28,245.

Among the newly-emerged cases, the CM said, 617 were from Karachi, with 184 belonging to East district, 146 to South district, 127 to Central district, 27 to Korangi, 46 to Malir and 41 to West district.

Moreover, 37 cases were detected in Sukkur, 34 in Khairpur, 27 in Ghotki, 25 in Hyderabad, 24 in Larkana and as many in Jacobabad, 16 in Shikarpur, eight each in Sanghar and Jamshoro, five in Mirpurkhas, three each in Qambar-Shahdadkot and Badin, two in Shaheed Benazirbad and one each in Matiari, Dadu, Tando Allah Yar and Tando Muhammad Khan, he added. Sharing this data, the CM expressed worry over the rise in local transmission in rural areas.

Speaking of recovered patients, he said that 553 more infected persons had tested negative on Friday, raising the number of cured patients in the province to 13,810 .

This leaves 13,954 patients under treatment, he elaborated, saying that of them, 12,773 were isolated at their homes, 108 were in isolation centres and 1,073 at different hospitals. Among them, 334 are severely ill, including 62 on ventilators, he added.

Also, he said, 6,378 Pakistanis stranded abroad were brought back via Karachi airport in 34 flights between April 18 and May 28; of them, 1,208 were found infected.

Identifying crash victims

The CM further said that of the 97 people who died in the plane crash on May 22, 75 had been identified and their bodies handed over to the heirs.

"Now eight bodies kept in Chhipa mortuary and another 14 at the Edhi morgue are left to be identified," he added.

He assured that the DNA matching of the bodies was underway and that they would be handed over to the heirs soon after identification.

Separately, the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, stated that the Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory (SFDL) had so far cross-matched the DNA samples of 37 crash victims.

According to an ICCBS statement on Sunday, the reports had been dispatched to the police as well. It added that the process of identification would be completed by Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2020.