Dip in virus spread ‘sans Sindh’

Minister says compliance with SOPS yet to improve in Karachi

ISLAMABAD:

Planning Minister Asad Umar on Friday noted that the situation was improving across the country in terms of stemming the spread of Covid-19 with the exception of Sindh, particularly its provincial capital Karachi, where compliance with coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) had yet to improve.

Sindh reported 2,430 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours in comparison with 1,216 in Punjab.

Cases are still rising at an alarming rate in Karachi, where smart lockdowns have been enforced for two weeks in several areas of South and West districts and for five days in Phase 1 and 2 of Malir district’s Gulshan-e-Hadeed neighbourhood.

“I discussed the matter with the Sindh chief minister and health minister today,” Umar, who heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Covid-19, said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad.

“The federal government will join hands with the Sindh government to improve the situation in the province,” he added.

The minister noted that apart from Sindh, better compliance with the SOPs and citizens taking precautionary measures were helping in curbing the spread of the disease in the rest of the country.

Around 51.2% of Covid-19 patients in the country have recovered from the disease so far.

Sindh is leading in term of recoveries with 49,926 patients free of the disease, followed by 33,786 in Punjab.

Umar pointed out that the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals was less than the figure recorded in mid-June.

“There has also been a reduction in the number of deaths as well as patients on ventilators,” he added.

 “The number of patients on oxygen and ventilators in hospitals now is also less than what it was last month.”

However, the minister warned that cases could surge again if citizens stopped following the SOPs.

“The situation can improve further if people continue to take precautionary measures.”

Umar also appreciated the efforts of the local administrations and provincial governments in ensuring compliance with the SOPs.

The minister said experts had earlier estimated that if the SOPs were implemented, the number of cases could reach up to 1.2 million by the end of July.

“But observing the current trend of the coronavirus cases, the number could be even less than 400,000 the by end of July.”

NCOC data shows that 89,225 cases have been reported In Sindh so far. A total of 49,926 patients have recovered in the province. Of the 78,956 patients in Punjab, 33,786 have recovered. Similarly, 27,170 cases have been reported in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 14,715 recoveries.

In Balochistan, 10,666 coronavirus cases have been reported and 5,073 have recovered.

The number of cases reported in Islamabad stand at 13,195 cases and the recoveries at 8,264.

A total of 686 patients out of 1,160 reported in Azad Kashmir have recovered. The tally of patients in Gilgit-Baltistan stands at 1,524 of which 1,173 have recovered.

The virus has claimed the lives of 78 people in Pakistan during the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 4,551, the NCOC said, adding that 22,941 tests were carried out across the country during this period.

WITH INPUT FROM APP