ISLAMABAD: Sindh has become the first province to record more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases in a single day, as the countrywide tally jumped to 28,795 on Saturday.

The overall number of cases across the country was 5,985 when the lockdown was first eased on April 14, according to the federal government.

Among the 1,841 new cases of the deadly virus reported from across the country during the past day, as many as 1,080 were detected in Sindh with hundreds of them being traced in a Khairpur village alone.

With this, the tally of confirmed cases in the province has climbed to 10,771.

While talking to Dawn, Sindh Minister for Education and a key member of the provincial cabinet Saeed Ghani confirmed that 1,080 cases were reported from the province, which was the highest number, in a single day, for any province in Pakistan.

Countrywide infections tally surges to over 28,700

“In fact a case was detected in Pir Jo Goth near Khairpur due to which it was decided to start contact tracing and it was astonishing that 287 contacts were traced,” he said.

While replying to a question, Mr Ghani said it could not be confirmed at the moment that such instances would not repeat.

“In Pir Jo Goth, no person had foreign travel history, yet a huge number of cases have been reported due to local transmission. I cannot say that similar situation will not be witnessed in other villages,” he said.

“Moreover, we have increased the tests due to which 5,498 tests were conducted in a single day. I can surely say that contacts of every confirmed case will be traced,” he said.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Covid-19 said 12,982 tests were conducted across the country. This is the highest number of tests conducted in a day so far.

In other parts of the country, 438 new cases were detected in Punjab, 182 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 62 in Balochistan, 51 in Islamabad, 27 in Gilgit-Baltistan, one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With at least 25 more deaths, the toll also increased to 636 across the country. It was only 107 when the lockdown was first eased over three weeks ago.

Earlier while chairing a meeting of National Health Task Force, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the situation in Pakistan was much better as compared to other countries.

However, Young Consultants Association of Pakistan (YCAP) in a statement issued on Saturday urged the government to reconsider the decision of relaxing the lockdown. It said that reopening out-patient departments of hospitals would multiply cases in coming days. The association claimed that over 700 healthcare workers had already been infected with the deadly virus.

YCAP chairman Dr Asfandyar Khan appealed to the government to provide all personal protective equipment to doctors so that they could protect themselves while treating patients.

At the task force meeting, however, PM Khan took notice of unethical attitude of healthcare professionals with coronavirus patients and said this had become a cause of fear in society.

He said it was collective responsibility of everyone to be kind with Covid-19 patients and directed relevant officials to take steps for confidence building in the masses.

While discussing different incidents, the premier said such incidents would not be tolerated at all, as they became reason of fear in society. He said that in case of symptoms of Covid-19, people should contact the hospital and get them tested. He also directed the officials concerned to launch a campaign for public awareness.

Pakistanis stranded in Kuwait

Meanwhile, a large number of Pakistanis, living in Kuwait, have approached the federal ombudsman seeking arrangement for their early return to Pakistan through special flights.

Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar, Senior Adviser and Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis in Federal Ombudsman Secretariat, said that the Pakistanis stranded in Kuwait had requested for arrangement to return to Pakistan due to the pandemic-situation.

The Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis asked the Foreign Office that to reach the Pakistanis early for coordination, help and assistance through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan Mission in Kuwait for their assistance and return to Pakistan, as they had genuine grievances.

Mr Khokhar also asked the FO to submit report on the subject to federal ombudsman secretariat by May 14.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020