Coronavirus Update: Sindh’s rate of infection continues rising phenomenally

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

As Eid-ul-Fitr was observed amid advices for exercising restraints, its rate of new COVID-19 infection in Sindh rose to 23.85% on May 24, against 17.57% of the preceding day (May 23). 

According to official sources, various testing laboratories working in the public and private sectors conducted as many as 3,547 tests for coronavirus, out of which 846 were found positive. 

Earlier, the COVID-19 new infection rate in the province remained almost stationary during a period from May 16 to 22. During the period in question Sindh’s new daily infection rate was on average recorded as 16.59%. 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, observed on May 24 that the new infection rate of 24% was the highest ever ratio of such cases since February 26 when Sindh reported its first case of COVID-19. 

He didn’t mince words in stating that the COVID situation was going from bad to worse in the province, revealing that out of 846 new cases, 703 belonged to Karachi. 

“This is why I keep requesting our people to stay home because Karachi is a thickly populated city and the threat of local transmission looms large here,” he added. 

Reporting increase in the infection rate, the authorities confirmed another 13 deaths due to lethal coronavirus infection during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on May 24, pushing the COVID-19 death counts to 367 for Sindh. 

However, there was no elaborated information about the latest deaths as the health department did not release the relevant summary for reasons best known to them. 

It was learnt that 157,449 samples have been tested across the province so far, out of which 22,491 were detected COVID-19 positive. In addition to Karachi, the districts from where the new positive cases were reported on May 24 included Larkana (24), Ghotki (12), Tando Allahyar (10), Hyderabad (9), Sanghar (8), Kambar-Shahdadkot (7), Jacobabad (7), Thatta (4), while Badin and Jamshoro presented two cases each and Mirpurkhas and Tando Mohammad Khan one cases each. 

As many as 13,094 (88.5%) infected people were taking treatment in home isolation, while 791 (5.5%) were in isolation centers and 880 or (6%) were in different hospitals. It was further learnt that 156 patients were in critical condition, of them 34 have been put on the ventilators. 

In the meantime, Sindh Minister for Health, Azra Fazal Pechuho, in a message on May 24, urged the people to prefer staying at home then going out. 

“Coronavirus is very much existent in the community while beds and ventilators are available in limited numbers in our health system,” she revealed, adding that two children are at present on ventilators. 

On the other hand, the Sindh government spokesperson, Murtaza Wahab, noted that the province has seen a jump in the number of coronavirus cases in children in the last 20 days. “On May 2 we had 253 children infected with the virus, today there are 788 children up to the age of 10 were infected.” 

He appealed to the people to practice social distancing and follow relevant SoPs to keep themselves safe. “We went outside and brought coronavirus into our homes. The lockdown policies were for our betterment and to keep us safe,” he added. 

According to an official report, as of May 24, there were 1,654 admitted in different hospitals in the province, out of which 1,499 were in stable condition, 121 in critical condition and 34 on ventilators.