Coronavirus has claimed 12 lives so far in Pakistan with the latest death reported in KP where a woman from Dir succumbed to the disease on Saturday. On Friday, Punjab had reported two deaths in the province: a 22-year-old patient in Faisalabad and a 70-year-old patient in Lahore lost their battles against coronavirus.
The country’s tally has already surged past 1,400 with Punjab overtaking Sindh as Pakistan’s coronavirus epicenter reporting 497 confirmed cases compared to 457 in Sindh. Cities remain under strict lockdowns but PM Imran Khan on Friday ordered provinces to lift restrictions imposed on the movement of goods transport.
The global shocks are worsening too. Italy hit a new high in single-day toll with 919 deaths reported on Friday. Spain too registered a record 769 deaths overnight the same day. With its cases crossing 104,000, USA is now topping the list of most affected countries. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the country’s health minister Matt Hancock announced on Friday that they too had tested positive for the virus.
Here are the latest updates:
With 33 new cases, Punjab tally has jumped to 530.
A notification from the Sindh govt. has barred employers from laying off employees during the shutdown saying ‘the period of closure may be considered by the employers as paid leave’.
“…the Govt of Sindh hereby directs that during the said ban period no worker shall be laid off and all kinds of workers shall be paid salaries/remunerations/wages in full by their respective employers,” reads the notification.
“Any person disobeying any direction or order issued under this Order or any person facilitating, in any manner, the defiance of this order issued under the Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act 2014 shall be deemed to have committed an offense punishable under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal code as provided under Section 4 of the said Act as well applicable Labor Laws,” it warns.
New cases in Karachi and Hyderabad take Sind Covid-19 tally to 469.
Of these, 8 were confirmed in Karachi while the other 4 were reported in Hyderabad.
Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Anwarul Haq has confirmed that a doctor working at the District Headquarter Hospital Rawalpindi has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
SAMP on health Zafar Mirza has identified the types of people who can get tested for the novel coronavirus:
Karachi police have detained and registered FIRs against 29 prayer leaders who violated the restriction on congregational prayers in Sindh by organizing mass prayers despite the ban.
The cases were registered in District Central and District East.
After a member tested positive for coronavirus, a tableeghi jamaat mosque in Hyderabad has been put under quarantine. The mosque serves as the city headquarters for the jamaat.
Fawad Chaudhry has said that he has instructed the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to start sampling the sanitizers being sold in the open market amid the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
Karachi’s coronavirus tally has jumped by 17 new cases. All of the new cases are of local transmission.
Karachi so far has 181 COVID-19 cases.
Pakistan’s 12th coronavirus death has been reported in KP where a woman from Lower Dir succumbed to the deadly virus.
She had recently returned from Umrah and her death takes KP’s toll to 4. The village she was from has been put under quarantine.
As many as 15 doctors and paramedic staff have tested positive in Multan’s Nishtar Hospital.
Other staff members of the hospital are now being tested for the virus too.
A plane carrying coronavirus-related supplies from China has landed in Karachi.
This is the 3rd shipment of medical supplies sent from China to Pakistan in the past three days.
Seven new coronavirus cases have emerged in Punjab taking the provincial tally to 497.
After two producers, one TV anchor of a private TV channel has now tested positive for coronavirus.
According to details, a Lahore-based TV anchor was tested positive as media persons are also on the frontline to fight coronavirus outbreak.
Details said the 24-year-old anchorperson is doing fine and is being treated as per protocol.
With 12 new coronavirus cases, Islamabad tally has climbed to 39.
Gilgit Baltistan has also reported 16 new cases taking its total to 109.
As many as 60 Pakistanis stuck in Thailand will be brought back through a special flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
According to the Ministry for Overseas Pakistanis, the said flight will land in Islamabad around 10:20 pm on Saturday.
China reported no cases of local transmission on Friday but has asked citizens to be on guard against the virus.
Restrictions on foreigners entering China have gone into effect on Saturday after the country announced a temporary suspension of entry for foreign nationals with visas or residence permits.
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan recently crossed the 1000 mark and are expected to rise sharply in the coming days as authorities conduct more tests after receiving kits from China.
1246 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Pakistan thus far. Unlike the rest of the world where the elderly have been affected most, the majority of the victims of Coronavirus in Pakistan are youngsters.
Read the full story here.
A British health technology firm, Mologic, has developed a device that would allow people to conduct Coronavirus tests at their homes inside 10 minutes at a cost of $1.
As per details, Mologic is now sending the device’s prototypes to renowned laboratories across the world for validation so the firm can shift focus towards mass production.
Read the full story here.
For our coronavirus coverage from March 27, click here.