Coronavirus Update: Sindh’s onslaught continues with record single-day infections

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Sindh’s COVID-19 cases onslaught continued unabated as the authorities confirmed detection of 1,402 new cases in 6,289 samples on June 1, with 22 fatalities, pushing the tally of infections to 29,647 and deaths to 503. 

According to data, Sindh reported its all days’ highest new infections since the outbreak of the diseases on February 26 in the province, against previous provincial one-day highest of 1,247 new infections reported on May 30. 

The number of laboratory tests for COVID-19 conducted in Sindh increased by 2,189 (53%) in comparison to May 31. 

Sindh’s one day rate of positive infection came as 22%, against the country’s 20.58%, while the overall positivity rate remained 15.84% against 12.91% of the country. A gender-wise calculation showed the ratio of female patients in Sindh’s overall infections as 28.1%. 

The breakdown of 22 male and female patients, along with ages and hospital names, who expired during the last 24 hours, ending at 9 am on June 1 were not released by the provincial health department or the Sindh’s Chief Minister who continued to issue his statement on COVID-19 on a regular basis. 

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, in his latest statement, revealed that 342 out of 1,095 admitted patients at hospitals were in critical condition across the province. 

As many as 71 COVID-19 patients were hooked to ventilators while the tally of those having been cured and recovered from the diseases increased to 14,590, with the release of another 785 patients during the last 24 hours. 

The new infections were confirmed at Karachi (1,028), Sukkur (46), Ghotki (46), Larkana (38), Hyderabad (25), Mirpurkhas (21), Shikarpur (20) Jacobabad (12), Khairpur (8), Jamshoro (8), Badin (4), Sujawal (4), Naushero Ferroze (2), Thatta (2) while Umerkot, Shaheed Benazirabad and Kashnore reported one case each. 

In the meantime, a source revealed that at least 17 patients died at eight public and private hospitals during the last 24 hours. 

By June 1, as many as 409 patients lost their lives in 27 private and public hospitals across the province, including JPMC (63 deaths), DUHS (62), SIUT (54), AKUH (44), CHK (40), Indus Hospital (43), Ziauddin Hospital (26), PNS Shifa (14), LUMHS Hyderabad (12) and others. 

According to another source, after a few days of crisis, the position related to utilization of beds in the intensive care units at 11 hospitals handling COVID-19 patients at Karachi has changed now.

As many as 22 ICU beds were reported vacant at five hospitals while another 23 beds in the high dependency units were vacant at four hospitals, in addition to 158 were vacant in isolation wards of four hospitals. 

Meanwhile, Dr Palitha Mahipala, Country Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Pakistan, met with the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, and the Sindh Health Minister, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, on June 1. 

During the meeting the WHO official highlighted the importance of increasing the laboratory testing, active case finding and testing all severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza like illness (ILI) cases, improving case management and slowing down community transmission by placing mild and moderate cases in isolation facilities, according to the official communication. 

The Chief Minister urged the WHO representative to ensure some training programme for the doctors, paramedical staff and nurses dealing the COVID-19 cases. Dr Sara Khan of the WHO was also present on the occasion.