Coronavirus Update: Home isolation preferred

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Only 6% of the COVID-19 active patients were admitted in hospitals of Sindh on July 27 when authorities in the government registered another 513 new cases, with 11 new deaths, across the province during the last 24 hours.

The provincial data suggested that the burden of COVID-19 patients had significantly decreased from hospitals, while 94% of the infected cases were receiving treatment in home-isolation. 

During a period from July 21-27, 4-6% of the entire COVID-19 patients were admitted in about 50 designated government and private hospitals across the province. 

According to the provincial government’s report, as of July 25, a total of 5,323 patients were admitted at the hospitals, out of which 3,071 could be cured and 631 (12%) were still receiving treatment, while 1,621 (30%) lost their lives. 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his routine statement on July 27, shared that there were 8,182 active COVID-19 cases in the province, out of which 7,655 were in isolation at homes, while six were in the government designated isolation centres and 521 were hospitalized with as many as 67 were put on ventilators.

He said that with the latest registration of positive cases the overall number of infections in the province had reached to 118,824 (17%), while the fatality tally came as 2,162 (CFR= 1.8%). A total of 8,742 samples were tested, with a positivity rate of six percent.

However, details of deceased persons’ hospitalization and districts they lived in were neither provided by the Chief Minister nor the provincial health department.

According to a Sindh government report, updated on July 27, of the 412 intensive care unit beds, including 321 in Karachi, 175 were occupied, while only 21% of the high dependency unit beds (1,105) were utilized.

During the last 24 hours, ending on July 27 morning, Karachi reported the maximum of 138 (27%) new cases, followed by Shikarpur (32), Ghotki (31), Hyderabad (26), Sukkur (26), Shaheed Benazirabad (23), Khairpur (20), Badin (19), Kashmore (19), Mirpurkhas (17), Larkana (14), Jamshoro (14), Naushero Feroze (13), Sanghar (13), Umerkot (10), Tando Mohammad Khan (8), Dadu (7), Kambar Shahdadkot (6), Jacobabad (5), Sujawal (4), Matiari (3), Tando Allahyar (3) and Thatta (2).

In the meantime, officers of the Sindh health and population welfare departments, along with officials and employees of the Sindh Emergency Operation Centre for Polio and Sindh Police department undertook activities aimed at creating awareness around childhood diseases, COVID-19 prevention. They distributed literature and facemasks in different localities in the South district of Karachi.