Covid death toll spikes with 58 fatalities in a day

Health minister seeks Centre's help with vaccine as 1,520 fresh cases emerge in the province

Sindh reported 58 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday - the highest number in a single day since 74 deaths were reported on June 29. As a result, the provincial death toll for the pandemic soared to 3,222.

Meanwhile, as 1,520 more infections emerged in the province with a 14.8 per cent positivity ratio on the day, Sindh Health and Population Welfare Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho reached out to the federal government to ask for assistance in providing the Covid-19 vaccine.

In her letter, Pechuho asserted that the provincial government could not succeed in providing vaccines to the people on its own, adding that the pandemic had affected every sphere of life and the second wave had been more severe.

She wrote that according to the details provided by the National Command and Operation Centre, the vaccine for the virus was expected to be imported by March 2021. Asking what assistance the federal government would give the province in this regard, she also inquired about the quantities of the vaccine to be given to Sindh.

Moreover, she requested the federal government to review Sindh's health system, seeking help with the logistics, cold storage, protocols and communication strategy for the much-waited vaccine.

As per Pechuho's, the Sindh government had prepared a strong system in collaboration with the Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunisation and had also identified the staff required to handle the vaccine.

The process of engaging frontline workers, health professionals and private partners in the vaccination campaign had also been started, she added.

Last week, the minister had complained that the Centre had not taken the provinces into confidence over the availability of the vaccine in Pakistan, adding that the only source of information on the Centre's moves was the media.

Virus tally

Meanwhile, with the new infections, Sindh's virus tally rose to 198,482, according to a statement issued by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. At the same time, 1,176 people recuperated from the virus overnight, taking the number of recoveries to 169,385.

Shah further said there were 25,875 active Covid-19 patients in Sindh, of whom 24,965 were in home isolation, 894 were being treated at different hospitals and 16 were admitted to isolation centres. As many as 801 people were in critical condition and 83 of them had been shifted to ventilators, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2020.