Coronavirus claims 16 more lives in Sindh

Province sees 865 fresh Covid-19 cases overnight, with 666 emerging in Karachi

Coronavirus claimed 16 more lives overnight in the province, taking the death toll to 2,738, said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday.

Further, as many as 865 more people were diagnosed with the virus on the day, which pushed the virus tally to 154,738. On the other hand, 335 patients recovered from the contagious disease between Friday and Saturday, with the number of recoveries in the province to date rising to 142,417.

The chief minister apprised that 9,583 people were currently infected with the virus, of whom 9,113 were in home isolation, 463 were being treated at different hospitals and seven were admitted at isolation centres.

He added that the condition of 366 patients was said to be critical, and 39 of them had been shifted to ventilators.

According to Shah, 666 fresh Covid-19 cases were detected in Karachi alone, with 259 cases emerging from East district, 192 from South, 93 from Central, 57 from Korangi, 37 from Malir and 28 from West district.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad saw 77 cases, Jamshoro 20, Shaheed Benazirabad 16, Badin 12, Sukkur nine, Sanghar six, Larkana, Naushero Feroze and Umerkot four each, Thatta and Dadu three each, Khairpur, Ghotki and Sujawal two each, and Jacobabad and Kashmore one each.

'People disregarding SOPs'

Separately, in a video statement, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab pointed out that Covid-19 cases were rising as the weather turned colder.

He further stated that the detection rate for the infection had increased to seven per cent in recent days, while it fluctuated between 1.5 per cent and two per cent during the initial wave of the pandemic due to the better observance of precautionary measures.

"Earlier, people were cooperating with the government in dealing with the pandemic but now they have a more lax attitude towards following precautionary guidelines," he added. "People will have to make sure they wear masks when stepping out and follow all standard operating procedures, including social distancing."

Wahab dispelled the notion of the pandemic having had ended, an idea which he said was prevalent in the country. "People must stay cautious to control its further spread."

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2020.