Coronavirus Update: Growing cases detected from interior Sindh

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Amidst reports that hospitals were denying treatment to COVID-19 patients, the Sindh health department on June 6 confirmed detection of another 1,475 new cases, including 371 from the interior districts of where the disease was gathering strength, with related 19 new deaths, all reported from Karachi. 

According to the department’s daily summary on the epidemic, the new cases increased the heap of COVID-19 infection to 36,364 in Sindh, including 29,066 at Karachi, with total deaths of 634 patients, an average 6.2 deaths daily since March 19 when the first lethal virus death was reported in the province. So far, 18,265 patients have recovered from the diseases, 17,465, including 14,363 at Karachi and 2,990 in the remaining 23 districts.

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his statement, shared that 388 COVID-19 patients were still in critical condition, 58 of whom were receiving ventilator support. 

“As many as 16,138 confirmed patients are in home isolation, while 61 are receiving treatment at isolation centres and another 1,266 are admitted in hospitals. 

In the meantime, the Karachi Mayor, Wasim Akhtar, has demanded of the Sindh government to establish a central helpline providing information about capacity in hospitals handling the COVID-19 patients and the existing patient loads. 

“There does not exist appropriate mechanisms to cope with coronavirus pandemic,” he added saying the everyday listing of coronavirus positive patients demanded utmost adoption of preventive measures by the masses and the governments at all level. 

According to the case summary released on June 6, a maximum of 1,104 new cases of coronavirus were reported from Karachi, followed by Ghotki (98), Hyderabad (60), Larkana (58). Sukkur (56), Jacobabad (26), Dadu (21), Khairpur (14), Shikarpur (13), Mirpurkhas (7), Sanghar (5), Sahheed Benazirabad (3), Thatta (2), while Jamsjhoro, Badin, Kambar Shahdadkot, Kashmore and Umerkot reported one case each. 

So far 222,890 samples have been tested, including 7,033 tested during the last 24 hours ending at 9 am on June 6. 

A comparative study of the summaries for over a week showed rapid increase in the number of case in the interior of Sindh. As of May 30, Hyderabad had a total of confirmed 880 cases, followed by Sukkur (878), Larkana (658), Khairpur (628), Ghotki (532), Shikarpur (350), Jacobad (220) and Shaheed Benazirabad (201). 

On June 6 the number of cases had jumped to Sukkur (1,170), Hyderabad (1,154), Larkana (861), Ghotki (834), Khairpur (758), Shikarpur (423), Jacobabad (307) and Shaheed Benazirabad (221) while Karachi’s infected tally rose to 29,066 from 21,970. 

In the prevailing scenario, there were a total 139 ICU beds at 11 hospitals of Karachi, 129 of that are occupied at present, according to a Sindh government report of June 6. The Karachi hospitals had also 310 HDU beds, out which 203 were occupied, while of the 186 isolation beds 21 were occupied. 

The four remaining divisions of Sindh, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur and Larkana, had 88 ICU beds at nine hospitals, out of which 61 were vacant, while of 197 HDU beds 76 were occupied. The divisions had a total of 867 isolation beds at nine hospitals, out of which 842 were vacant. 

Those who died at Karachi due to COVID-19, as reported by the health department on June 6, included 15 men of age ranging from 40 to 80 years, while four women were in the age brackets of 55 to 78 years.