QUETTA: Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi is among 276 people who tested positive for coronavirus during the past 24 hours.

Mr Buledi and provincial secretary Ghulam Ali Baloch have been quarantined at their residences and their condition is stable.

Former provincial governor Syed Fazal Agha, who is a member of the Balochistan Assembly from the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, also tested positive and was quarantined at his home in Pishin and later shifted to a private hospital in Karachi. His condition is reported to be serious.

While giving details of Covid-19 positive cases late on Monday night, spokesman for the Directorate of Director General Health Dr Wasim Baig said with eight deaths in the past 24 hours the total number of casualties rose to 38 in the province. Of them seven deaths were reported from Pishin, Lasbela and Sibi. The active cases in the province are 2,201.

He said 2,191 positive cases have so far been reported from Quetta, 100 from Pishin, 74 from Killa Abdullah, 28 from Killa Saifullah, 29 from Jaffarabad, 18 from Chagai, 27 from Mastung, 13 from Sibi, 14 from Lasbela, eight from Ziarat, nine from Loralai, four each from Panjgur, Kharan and Nushki, three from Khuzdar, two each Harnai and Musakhel and one from Kohlu.

The total number of infected patients is now 2,820 in the province.

Dr Baig said 526 positive patients have recovered so far.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2020