Coronavirus has claimed 6th life in Pakistan with the latest death reported in Quetta. According to Baluchistan govt. spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani, the patient was 65 years old and lost his fight against the deadly virus during treatment at Quetta’s Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital.
The 5th death was recorded on Sunday from Gilgit Baltistan where Dr. Osama Riaz, who was screening pilgrims returning to Pakistan from Iran, contracted the virus and succumbed to it. Of the 4 previous deaths, 1 was reported in Sindh and 3 in KP.
New confirmed coronavirus cases are being reported in bulks. 41 new cases in Sindh and 70 new cases in Punjab were reported on Sunday in single goes. PM Imran Khan, in his address to the nation, ruled out a blanket lockdown but urged citizens to self-quarantine to fight the pandemic.
Sindh, however, announced a 15-day near-complete lockdown beginning today with movement restricted to need-basis only. All social and commercial activity is suspended during the lockdown with a few exceptions such as grocery buying and hospital visits.
Following Sindh, GB also announced ‘home-lookdown’ starting Monday (today) as the province’s tally tops 70 with one death recorded so far. Sindh, Baluchistan, and Punjab have already requested the interior ministry for army deployment to fight the disease and maintain the law-and-order situation.
Here are the latest updates.
Punjab has recorded 21 new cases, taking the provincial tally to 246.
Sindh reported 42 new cases with the total confirmed cases in the province jumping to 394. Of the new cases, 3 were reported in Karachi while 39 were reported in Sukkur.
6 new cases were added to the KP tally which now totals at 38. Baluchistan also reported 2 new cases taking the province’s total to 110.
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar held a media briefing over the latest coronavirus-related developments in Pakistan. He spoke about the challenge at hand and how the army deployment was requested by the civil government to help the country fight the COVID-19 spread.
He added that during the army deployment, measures taken by the civil governments will be ensured. These measures include:
“It’s time to make tough decisions on individual, family, community, and society levels,” he said. “All borders have already been closed as a precautionary measure, but the real border is between man and coronavirus that we need to control,” he added.
According to a notification from the interior ministry, the army is being deployed across Pakistan including federal capital Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, KP, and AJK/GB to help civil administration fight the virus’ spread.
The decision has been made under Section 245 (functions of armed forces) of the Constitution and Section 131(A) (power to use military force for public security and maintenance of law and order) of the CrPC.
After Sindh and Punjab, AJK has also announced complete lockdown in the region for three weeks.
During the lockdown, restrictions will include:
CM Punjab Usman Buzdar has announced a 14-day partial lockdown in the province.
During the lockdown, a majority of social and commercial activities will remain suspended and pillion riding will also be banned across the province.
According to a notification issued by the Secretary Finance Sindh, the govt. will disburse pensions early to void crowding amid the coronavirus outbreak.
According to a BBC report, COVID-19 is quite likely to come back even if it’s contained because it is spread widely now.
Another likelihood is that it may not be contained and becomes ‘something that goes through the population and becomes part of the panel of viruses that causes respiratory infections every winter.’
“What we know is that it’s something spreading very rapidly now and we are going to need to have a vaccine against it,” says the report.
Scientists are rushing to find a vaccine but it’s likely to take a long time to develop. Some are hoping it will be ready in months, but others think next year’s most likely.
5 more Tableeghi Jamaat members have tested positive for coronavirus in Islamabad’s Bhara Kahu area.
Yesterday, a member of the Jamaat, who was a foreigner, had also tested positive for the virus which led the administration to shut two mosques where the ijtema had taken place.
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has directed telecom operators to replace the caller tunes with information messages comprising precautionary and preventive measures to help fight the spread of the pandemic.
Another COVID-19 case has emerged in KP. According to Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim, the patient had returned from the UK and was now under treatment at the hospital.
Saudi Arabia has issued a curfew order to limit the spread of Novel Coronavirus from 7 pm until 6 am for 21 days starting on the evening of Monday 23 March (today).
According to Saudi Press Agency, ’employees of the vital sectors of the public and private sectors whose work requires continued performance’ will be exempt from the curfew.
Handling banknotes doesn’t pose a particular risk of contracting coronavirus, the head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Wednesday.
“(Virus) transmission through banknotes has no particular significance,” RKI head Lothar Wieler told Reuters, adding that droplets from infected individuals were the main infection risk.
His remarks appeared to contradict those of World Health Organisation (WHO) officials who have advised people to wash their hands after handling banknotes.
Source: AFP
4 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Islamabad by the National Institute of Health (NIH).
This Brings Islamabad’s confirmed cases to 15 and the national tally to 803.
Baluchistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani has revealed that a coronavirus patient has died during treatment.
The patient was 65 and lost his fight against the disease at Quetta’s Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital.
A group of 75 staff members of the United States embassy in Islamabad has departed for Georgia, US, aboard a special flight from the Islamabad International Airport.
Source: Dawn
Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator of the health minister, informed last night that 11 new cases had been detected in Sindh.
All of the 7 reported in Karachi were locally transmitted. 1 was reported from Dadu while 11 in Sukkur, with all 12 having recently travelled to Iran.
The Civil Aviation Authority has announced the closure of Karachi and Sukkar airports for domestic flights.
The closure will begin from March 24 and will be for an ‘indefinite’ period.
Metrobus service across Punjab has been suspended temporarily as part of the province’s efforts to curb the coronavirus spread.
PIA has announced the suspension of international operations for 2 weeks in compliance with the government instructions.
No new COVID-19 cases were reported in KP on Sunday.
The new numbers released by Baluchistan’s health department indicate 4 new confirmed cases.
This take the provincial tally to 108 so far.
Sindh Health Department has informed the recovery of the 4th COVID-19 patient. The recovered person is a resident of Karachi and has tested negative twice for the virus.
As announced, Sindh has gone into a near-complete lockdown with movement restricted to need-basis only. However, essential services exempt from the lockdown include:
Source: Dawn
For our coronavirus coverage from March 22, click here.