Coronavirus Update: Karachi’s infection tally surpasses 90,000

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Karachi witnessed its overall COVID-19 infection tally surpassing 90,000 on August 18 when authorities concerned confirmed registration of 318 new cases, including 133 (42%) in the provincial capital, with five more relevant fatalities, during the last 24 hours across Sindh.

According to official reports, the COVID-19 testing laboratories located in Karachi tested 3,684 (39%) samples, against their collective capacity of conducting 9,340 tests during the last 24 hours ending on August 18 afternoon. 

As many as 2,412 suspected samples were examined by Karachi based laboratories on August 17, out of which 133 (5.5%) turned positive for the lethal virus, which claimed 1,949 deaths in the city, against 2336 deaths registered across the province, since March 20 when Sindh reported its first related death from Karachi. 

Pakistan, overall, reported 613 new cases on August 18, taking the total number of cases to 290,445, with 6,201 deaths. There were 12,116 active-patients across the country, as of August 18, while a total 272,128 (94%) recovered. 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his August 18 COVID-19 statement, shared that as many as 4,166 patients were still receiving treatment for the diseases in the province, including 3,782 at homes, six in isolation centres, 378 at hospitals, out of which 202 were stated in critical phase.

According to his statement, 8,094 samples were tested during the last 24 hours, pushing the figure of overall tests conducted in the province to 906,323.

He informed the number of deaths that occurred during the last 24 hours, but did not give any detail of deceased person’s hospitalization, districts where they lived in, gender and age.

Another official report, however, revealed that nine new deaths that were reported on August 17 included eight from Karachi and one from Sanghar. Three of the patients in question died at home. The breakdown of new infections reported from Sindh on August 18 remained:

Karachi (133; with overall 90,086), Sanghar (20; 1,395), Mirpurkhas (14;1,220), Shikarpur (7;1,733), Tando Allahyar (9;767), Dadu (8;1,183), Shaheed Benazirabad (8;1,880), Ghotki (8;3,489), Sukkur (7;3,781), Khairpur (7;2,984), Matiari (7;559), Kambar Shadadkot (6;978), Larkana (4;2143), Tando Mohammad Khan (4;539), Umerkot (3;705), Badin (3;1,044), Hyderabad (2;4,662), Jamshoro (2; 1,393) and Naushero Feroze (2;977). Sujawal (overall 506 cases), Tharparkar (1,162), Thatta (814), Kashmore (927) and Jacobabad (986) did not register new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours.