Sindh confirms 41 new coronavirus cases, national tally at 94
By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 02 Jan 2023
KARACHI: Provincial authorities on Monday confirmed 41 new cases of coronavirus in Sindh, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the province to 76 and the national tally to 94.
This is the single largest increase in novel coronavirus cases in the country as of today.
In a tweet, early Monday, Advisor to Sindh chief minister on Information Murtaza Wahab said 50 people who returned from the quarantine at Taftan had tested positive for COVID-19.
Out of the confirmed cases, 25 are in Karachi and one is in Hyderabad. “Out of these 76 patients, 2 have recovered & the remaining 74 are being kept in isolation,” he added.
However, confusion remains as there is no provincial focal person to give a tally of confirmed cases in Sindh. The number of total cases may be revised as facts become clearer.
By March 11, the number of quarantined pilgrims in Taftan rose to 4,000 – out of which 2,000 belonged to Sindh. The quarantined individuals were placed in a tent city set up by the Balochistan government for Pakistani nationals entering the country from Iran.
After the 14-day incubation period ended, around 300 pilgrims left for Sindh. They were then quarantined in Sukkur where the Sindh government ran tests on the pilgrims before allowing them to travel further.
Pakistan’s total confirmed cases
On Sunday, 20 were cases were confirmed by the authorities with Punjab reporting its first confirmed patient. Sindh confirmed 18 new cases while Islamabad reported one.
As of now, there are 76 confirmed cases in Sindh, 10 Balochistan, three in Gilgit Baltistan, four in Islamabad and one in Punjab.
Out of the 18 cases reported in Sindh on Saturday, 13 were of those quarantined in Sukkur. Three out of the remaining five had recently returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one traveled from Balochistan and the fifth patient had no travel history.
Action plan
On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) to cobble a unified approach to contain the outbreak.
The huddle was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed provincial chief ministers, top advisors and cabinet members.
It was decided to close borders with Iran and Afghanistan, allow only three airports – Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore – to operate international flights in limited numbers while other airports will see domestic flights, and ban public gatherings.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been tasked to coordinate with provincial governments and lead the fight against novel coronavirus. It was also decided to close all educational institutions until April 5.
The Pakistan Day parade on March 23 has also been canceled.
The Sindh government has banned public gatherings, shut down educational institutions, postponed religious celebrations and closed shrines, marriage halls, cinemas, gyms, social clubs, etc. Punjab government is said to have made a similar decision.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the education institutions have been closed till April 5 and suspended wedding activities around the province.
Balochistan has also limited activities and closed educational institutions until the end of March.
