Coronavirus Update: Karachi edges past Lahore to be worst affected in Pakistan

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Karachi was reported to have the highest coronavirus case load in the country at 24%, pulling down Lahore to number two at 23%, as the Sindh health authorities confirmed detection of another 371 new cases, with seven relevant deaths, in the megapolis on May 4. 

Only on May 2, according to a report compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO), Lahore topped among the districts of Pakistan for reporting 26% of the country’s total COVID-19 cases, while Karachi was second at 14%. 

In the meantime Karachi’s COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) decrease to 2.08% on May 4, against the provincial overall CFR of 1.73%, which, according to analysts can be attributed to the considerable increase in the numbers of new testing against the virus in the city. 

According to official data updated on May 4, Karachi reported the biggest increase in the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in a week as 2,361, about 40% of its total confirmed cases. The average number of new cases per day came as 337 through the week (April 28 to May 4).

The experts reckoned that the manner in which the death toll has increased in the recent days across the province it called for improved, timely and quality interventions in the case of COVID-19 affected population, otherwise the CFR will increase considerably, particularly at a time when peak of the diseases is yet awaited.

A comparative study of the provincial data suggested that corona tests are either not being conducted in almost half of the districts of Sindh or the people tested there are not found having contracted the lethal virus in last couple of days. 

The various districts including Jamshoro, Badin, Naushro Feroz, Thatta, Tando Mohammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Kasmore, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, though included in the lists of virus infected districts did not show any new cases. 

The COVID-19 cases update issued by the Sindh health department on May 5 informed that Khairpur reported 20 new cases, followed by Kamber Shahdadkot (9), Ghotki (8), Hyderabad (4), Jacobabad (3), Sujawal (1) and Sanghar (1), in addition to Karachi (371 new cases). 

All the patients having died of COVID-19 during the last 24 hours, ending at 8 am on May 4 belonged to Karachi. They were all males, aged from 43 to 79 years, said an official source, adding that six of them lost their lives in the government hospitals while the seventh one expired at home. 

The latest deaths pushed the COVID-19 death tally to 124 for Karachi (six districts) and 137 for Sindh. Other districts which reported the deaths include Sukkur (5), Hyderabad (3), Shaheed Benazirabad (1), Tando Allahyar (1), Ghotki (1) Matiari (1) and Larkana (1). 

With the addition of 2,571 people who were tested for the virus, the total number of the examined people reached to 66,623 across the province, while the total number people detected positive for COVID-19 came as 7,882; ie the overall provincial infection rate remained 11.83 %. The patients who recovered from the disease numbered 1,629 so far in the province, according to the health department data.