Death toll climbs to 240 as 4 more patients die

Number of dengue patients in Punjab crosses 17,000, with over 14,000 from Lahore.

The Punjab government is struggling to battle the spread of the dengue epidemic, but the deadly virus has claimed yet four more lives. 

A woman succumbed to the virus at the Ganga Ram hospital in Lahore, while two others died at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi. The virus also took a life at the Allied hospital in Faisalabad.

At least 240 people died of dengue virus in Punjab, out of which 223 were from Lahore.

In the last 24 hours, 320 new cases of dengue have been reported in Lahore, while over 1,300 patients are being treated at various hospitals.

The number of patients affected by dengue in Punjab has crossed 17,000, with over 14,000 from the provincial capital.

CM meeting on dengue

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed authorities to give the promised compensation money to the families of dengue victims within three days.

Sharif gave this order during a meeting conducted to discuss the elimination of the dengue epidemic in Lahore. He said the government was taking both short and long-term measures to control the epidemic.

Sharif said another team of four Sri Lankan experts would reach Lahore soon to help the government in its fight against the deadly disease.

The Chief Minister also said that all public and private hospitals need to get certificates from the government that prove they have eliminated all the larvae of dengue mosquitoes.