PESHAWAR: The death toll from coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reached 914 on Saturday as 24 more residents, including a senior doctor, died of the virus.

Of the new fatalities, 10 were reported in Peshawar district, four in Nowshera, two in Swat and one each in Mardan, Swabi, Lower Dir, Bajaur, Haripur, Kohat, Kurram and Bannu districts.

Noted among the deceased was Dr Naseer Haider Taipu, former senior medical officer of the Government Mental and General Hospital, Dadar, Mansehra.

A resident of Ghazi Township, Mansehra, he breathed his last at the Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad. According to a health department report, the province recorded 437 new cases, which took its overall tally of confirmed patients to 25,380.

Recoveries from Covid-19 total 12,149 in KP

The number of recoveries from coronavirus reached 12,149 after 345 more patients tested negative for the virus.

The report said the virus incidence had declined in the province due to the enforcement of smart lockdown, while the rate of recovery from the virus was also increasing.

However, Peshawar continued to have lion’s share in the province’s virus deaths and cases. The district recorded 222 new cases, which took its overall tally of patients to 8,827, highest in the province.

Deaths from the virus in Peshawar totalled 441.

Nowshera district has so far recorded 38 deaths from coronavirus.

The number of patients went to 707 after 16 more residents tested positive for the virus.

The virus fatalities in Swat district totalled 91 after two more patients breathed their last. The district also recorded 37 new cases, which increased its overall tally to 2,452.

The health department report said the number of Covid-19 patients in Charsadda district reached 673 after 32 more residents tested positive for the virus.

The district has already lost a dozen residents persons to the infection.

The overall tally of confirmed patients in Khyber tribal district reached 650 after the diagnosis of the virus in 14 more residents. The district has already witnessed 10 deaths from the virus.

Abbottabad district recorded 13 more cases, which took its overall count of patients to 1,080. A total of 38 residents have so far died of the virus in the district.

The report said Lower Dir district had recorded 14 new cases, so the number of virus patients reached 1,116 there. Twenty-three residents have so far died of the virus in the district.

Shangla district recorded 17 new cases, which increased its overall count of patients to 358. Three residents have so far lost life to the infection in the district.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2020