Coronavirus goes wild in Pakistan; 246 infected
Virus patients tally sharply rises in Punjab, rising from one to 34 cases in a single day
Things seem to be going wrong for Pakistan, which had not been much affected by the global pandemic of novel coronavirus until recently.
On Tuesday, more cases were reported and the tally increased to 246 confirmed cases of coronavirus patients who are being treated at different hospitals across the country.
According to the data available on the federal health ministry’s web portal, there are 172 coronavirus patients in Sindh, 34 in Punjab, 17 in Balochistan, 16 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4 in federal capital (Islamabad), and 3 in Gilgit Baltistan.
Punjab reports 34 cases
Health authorities in Punjab said the number of coronvirus cases in the province was rising sharply, as they started taking emergency measures fearing a further spike in infections.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar confirmed in a tweet that the number of confirmed coronavirus patients in the province had risen to 26. Later, the toll reaches 34.
“We are testing all the suspected patients and 736 Zaireen quarantined in DG Khan. 1,276 Zaireen coming from Taftan will also be quarantined,” he said.
On the basis of test reports, of suspected patients, I can confirm that the number of confirmed #coronavirus patients is now 26.
— Usman Buzdar (@UsmanAKBuzdar) March 17, 2020
We are testing all the suspected patients and 736 Zaireen quarantined in DG Khan. 1,276 Zaireen coming from Taftan will also be quarantined.
In an earlier tweet, Buzdar said that a patient who had passed away in Lahore was not a coronavirus patient; rather, he had liver issues that resulted in his death.
We have received test reports of Imran Ali, who lost his life in Mayo Hospital, and his cause of death was not #COVID19
— Usman Buzdar (@UsmanAKBuzdar) March 17, 2020
So far Punjab has 8 confirmed cases and are being provided best available treatment.
I urge everyone that these are testing times & we should act responsibly!
On suspicions of coronavirus, the patient was admitted in the isolation ward of Mayo Hospital on Monday night. But his test results later showed he had not contracted the virus.
Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid also tweeted about the test results of the deceased person.
The one patient reported dead due to Corona, is not true.
— Dr. Yasmin Rashid (@Dr_YasminRashid) March 17, 2020
His report for the test is negative.
May Allah have Mercy on him, his death was caused by other ailments.
So far no fatalities in Punjab from #COVID2019
Alhamdolillah
Separately, Punjab Chief Secretary Azam Suleman on Tuesday constituted a committee to monitor the measures to control the novel coronavirus epidemic and the availability of essential commodities in the province.
Sindh Situation
The number of cases in Sindh has risen from 152 to 172 on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Sindh Government, Barrister Murtaza Wahab confirmed it in a tweet. The breakdown of Sindh cases is: 134 Taftan pilgrims in Sukkar, 37 in Karachi and one in Hyderabad.
Following is the update of #COVIDー19 affected people in Sindh as on 17.03.2020 at 5 PM:
— Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) March 17, 2020
Positive =38
Cured=2
Under treatment =36
Pilgrims Sukkur
Total tests conducted 274
Negative 140
Positive 134
Grand Total 172
Sindh government has also established a Corona Virus Relief Fund with the seed money of Rs 3 Billion. The CM, Ministers, Advisors, Special Assistants and all Pakistan People’s Party MPAs will contribute their one month salary into the fund, the spokesperson said.
#SindhGovt has established a Corona Virus Relief Fund with the seed money of Rs 3 Billion. The CM, Ministers, Advisors, Special Assistants & all PPP MPAs will contribute their 1 months salary into the fund
— Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) March 17, 2020
Earlier he said that so far 119 pilgrims in Sukkur had tested positive and 115 tested negative.
Balochistan
Balochistan government spokesperson Liaqat Ali Shinwari informed 24 News on Tuesday that the province has got six new cases, taking the tally to 17.
The southwestern province of Pakistan borders with Iran, the regional hotbed of coronavirus pandemic. The safety measures taken by the authorities at the Taftan border have proved highly insufficient as most of the patients in the country are those who visited Iran recently.
Disinfection campaign
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has sprung into action and began disinfection campaign, starting from the airports of the country.
