Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa report new patients from people returning from Taftan, raising to 122 the national tally
A spokesman for the Sindh government on Monday updated the provincial tally for confirmed coronavirus cases, raising it to 88, as the deadly disease continues to sweep across Pakistan. Meanwhile, a lawmaker in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa confirmed that 15 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in the province.
“Another 11 have tested positive,” Senator Murtaza Wahab, who serves as adviser to the C.M. in Sindh, posted on Twitter. “These patients came to Sukkur from Taftan and were purportedly kept in quarantine at the border. So the total patients affected by coronavirus has reached 88 now. All these patients are being kept in isolation,” he added.
Separately, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Jhagra posted on Twitter that 15 people had tested positive for the deadly coronavirus in the northern province. “Just received news that 15 of 19 individuals received in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from Taftan have tested positive for coronavirus,” he said. “These are the first positive cases in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. They are being well looked after in quarantine in an isolated facility in Dera Ismail Khan,” he added.
With the 88 from Sindh, and the 15 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the confirmed national tally for COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has climbed to 122.
Overall Tally
- Sindh – 88
- Punjab – 1
- Balochistan – 5
- Gilgit-Baltistan – 5
- Islamabad – 2
- Taftan – 6
- Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – 15
Amid the rising toll, Special Assistant to the P.M. on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza has claimed the situation is still under control and urged the public to follow preventative measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Prime Minister Imran Khan, meanwhile, chaired a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Monday and pledged to address the masses “soon” to apprise them of the prevailing situation in the country. “We should not fear coronavirus, rather fight it,” he is quoted to have told the meeting’s participants in Islamabad.
The novel coronavirus originated in China’s Wuhan city last year and has since spread globally with the World Health Organization warning that COVID-19’s new epicenter was Europe. Overall, more than 6,000 people worldwide have died from the coronavirus, with around 164,000 people reportedly infected.